How to reference a fixed cell in Numbers?

My explanation of the problem was screwed up. At first I did indeed refer to $A2, but then (as you can see from the screenshot of the table itself), I recognized the problem you describe and copied the contents of column A to column B, which I then used. Yes, I botched the explanation of the problem, wasting your time -- for which I apologize.

The core problem, which I think I managed to explain fairly well, is with my reference to cell D2. I want every single cell in column C (the column C shown in the last screenshot) to refer to cell D2. But instead, cell C2 refers to D2, C3 refers to D3, C4 refers to D4, and so on.

The central problem is this: I want to be able to write a formula that includes a value that is the same for each an every cell in a column. Now, the obvious way to handle this is to simply enter that value directly into the cell. In other words, if I want to include the value 1.11111 in every cell, then the cell formula might read like this:

= POWER($A2, 1.11111)

But I want to be able to change the value of the exponent (that is, 1.11111) frequently to see how it affects the final result. I don't want to have to change the value at the top of the column and then select the remainder of the column and select TABLE > AUTOFILL > AUTOFILL DOWN. I want to have that value (1.11111) in its own cell and then alter it and immediately see the effect of that change.

My understanding was always that prefixing a dollar sign to a column identifier would denote that reference would change for each row. Perhaps my moth-eaten memory is wrong, but I had thought that leaving out the $ prefix made the reference explicit to that particular cell. I was hoping that somebody would set me straight, perhaps by informing me that some other prefix is required to keep the referenced cell fixed in place. Perhaps ∉D2 nails it down, or maybe ∰D2. But apparently it is not possible to insert a fixed cell reference in a formula.

The hack that solved my problem was to give each constant its own column. Thus, the first constant is in column D, the second constant in column E, and so on. I enter the value of the first constant in D2, then enter the formula "=$D2+0" in cell D3, then autofill that formula all the way down the column. I do the same for the constant in column E.

This permits me to enter a formula such as:

= $D2 x POWER($B2, $E2)

and it works as I require. Here's the screenshot of the table that works:

Thanks again for your help. Sorry for the confusing description of the problem.

Thanks for the suggestion, SG. It didn't solve my underlying problem, but I came up with a hack that does solve my problem. It's a hack, not a solution, so it wouldn't be of any use to anybody else, so I won't bother explaining it. Thanks anyway.

Ah, so! Apparently I have been laboring under a gross misconception all these years. Odd, that... I've been successful in my use of spreadsheets until now. In any event, your solution fixes both my problem and my misconception. Thanks much for setting an old geezer on the right course!

Thanks. It appears that my question has been mirrored there, too.