Discoveries that changed the world | The number is zero

Arab Weather - the number zero may be a number without value, and some believe that it is of no importance, but it is considered one of the greatest achievements currently in existence, on which many sciences such as calculus and integration are built, and the implementation of various financial calculations, in addition to its role in modern technical inventions such as Computers , which contributed to the progress of human civilization.

The invention of the number zero

The zero value was present in pre-Christian civilizations, where an inscription dating back to the Sumerian civilization of a double wedge was found between the cuneiform symbols of numbers on ancient stone tablets dating back to 3000 BC; To indicate that there is no number at that location.

The Sumerian counting system passed to the Babylonian civilization in 300 BC, and the Babylonians expressed zero by leaving a blank space between the cuneiform inscriptions that represent numbers, but this method was confusing and difficult to understand, which led them to represent zero with a symbol in the form of a double wedge in the shape of an angular shape.

And in the Maya civilization, the Maya people did not use zero in mathematical equations despite their high skill in them. Rather, they used it in their calendar systems in the year 350 AD, and this was the most obvious use of zero among other uses, but other civilizations that came after them did not use zero. Which led to his idea not being spread around.

The evolution of zero and its assignment of value

The zero was present in the Indian numbers, but it did not mean anything, and when the zero reached Baghdad in Iraq by the year 773 AD, the counting system was developed based on the Indian system, and the Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Musa al- Khwarizmi gave a value to zero , making it a multiple of ten Thus, he achieved the homes of tens, hundreds, and thousands ... etc.

Al-Khwarizmi was considered the first to develop mathematical equations equal to zero, known as algebra, and al-Khwarizmi called it the zero , and it was written in an oval , and considered it the smallest numbers present at the time, and after the Islamic conquest of Andalusia, zero reached Europe, which led to the spread of books Al-Khwarizmi translated in England.

After the zero reached Europe, it was developed by the Italian scientist Fibonacci, who was enlightened by al-Khwarizmi's writings in that, and zero became widely known among Italian merchants and German bankers, and merchants used it in encrypted messages, and the word cipher was derived from the word zero in Arabic.

The significance of the number zero

Zero has evolved over time to become one of the greatest achievements currently in existence, and many sciences such as calculus and implementation of various financial calculations were built upon it, in addition to its role in modern technical inventions such as computers, which contributed to the advancement of human civilization.