zero

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The number zero

A large black numeral zero centered on an orange background, visually representing the concept of zero.

Sumerian inscriptions

A Babylonian mathematical tablet

Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle

Clock with Roman numerals

A chart displays the Mayan numeral system, showing symbols for numbers 0 to 19 using dots and bars, and demonstrates how larger numbers are formed by stacking these symbols vertically in a base-20 system. An example calculation on the right breaks down the number 258,458 using Mayan numerals and powers of 20.

The Bakhshali manuscript fragment displayed in a case, showing ancient script with a small black dot representing the earliest known numeral zero.

Statue of Aryabhata at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India.

The number zero

zero: Media

mathematics

Images

The number zero

The number zero

The simple oval symbol (0) that denotes the absence of any value.

© Przemyslaw Godzina—EyeEm/Getty Images

A large black numeral zero centered on an orange background, visually representing the concept of zero.

The number zero

© Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sumerian inscriptions

Sumerian inscriptions

Archives Photographiques

A Babylonian mathematical tablet

A Babylonian mathematical tablet

Yale Babylonian Collection

Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle

Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle

Courtesy of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Clock with Roman numerals

Clock with Roman numerals

JuergenG

A chart displays the Mayan numeral system, showing symbols for numbers 0 to 19 using dots and bars, and demonstrates how larger numbers are formed by stacking these symbols vertically in a base-20 system. An example calculation on the right breaks down the number 258,458 using Mayan numerals and powers of 20.

The Mayan numeral system

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Bakhshali manuscript fragment displayed in a case, showing ancient script with a small black dot representing the earliest known numeral zero.

The Bakhshali manuscript

© Yui Mok—PA Images/Getty Images

Statue of Aryabhata at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India.

Statue of Aryabhata at the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, India.

Mukerjee

The number zero

The number zero

© Przemyslaw Godzina—EyeEm/Getty Images

Soviet postage stamp featuring a portrait of Al-Khwarizmi in a turban, with Russian text and decorative border, issued to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of his birth.

Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi from a U.S.S.R. postage stamp, 1983

© Juulijs/stock.adobe.com

Map showing the birthplaces of prominent mathematicians from the Islamic world, marked with city names and mathematician names across the Middle East and Central Asia. Cities such as Baghdad, Basra, Harran, and others are labeled, each associated with a historical mathematician. Modern country boundaries and a locator inset of the region are included.

Mathematicians of the Islamic world

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A statue of mathematician Fibonacci by Giovanni Paganucci, 1863, in Pisa, Italy

A statue of mathematician Fibonacci by Giovanni Paganucci, 1863, in Pisa, Italy

Hans-Peter Postel

Zero on a number line

Zero on a number line

Positioned at the center, zero separates positive numbers on the right from negative...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Three thermometers compare temperature scales, showing absolute zero, freezing, and boiling points of water in Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin, with labeled values for each scale.

Absolute zero

Thermometers comparing absolute zero shown in Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin scales.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Patrick O'Neill Riley