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Zero
is odd because it is actually nothing, but then it is used as a placeholder.
If zero was nothing, than winning $1,000,000 would mean you won just $1. Some
cultures did not use zero as a numeral. The Romans just used the word “empty”
to refer to nothing. So, Roman Numerals do not have a symbol that refers to
zero as a number.
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Arabic |
Babylonia |
China |
Hindus
(India) |
Mayan
(Central America) |
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Zero in different
cultures |
Many countries use the
Arabic numerals to express integers. Greek letters are internationally used
for some irrational numbers. The names of the numerals vary from country to
country; some numbers even have special names. A “googol” is 10100
or ten times itself one hundred times or 1 followed by 100 zeros. This
name was proposed by a 9-yr old nephew (Milton) of Dr. Edward Kasner
(1878-1955) a professor at Columbia
University in New York. Why do you think
the company “Google” uses this name? |
