At 12:05 PM 12/28/99 +0200, Craig Gibson wrote: >Hi all > > >When did the concept of '0' actually start? Ancient >mathematicians surely could not have worked without it, yet there >is no 0 in roman numerals for example... > > >Kind Regards >Craig Gibson > >Hi Craig,
This topic is well covered in David Ewing Duncan's book "Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year". The use of zero followed the use of the symbols for the numbers 1 to 9. Zero is necessary for positional notation and decimal fractions. Duncan notes that this system was developed in India by Hindu mathematicians like Aryabhata and Brahmagupta. The zero was in full use by the seventh century. It comes to us along with Arabic numbers through Baghdad and Moslem mathematicians. The mathematics in Ptolmey's Almagest uses base 60 numbers, fractions of whole numbers and no zeros. Even his trig tables are based on parts of 60, the radius of his unit circle. It is interesting to note that the Maya used a zero symbol around 300AD with base 20 numbers in their remarkably accurate calendar system. This and their sun oriented temples warrant further investigation. Roger Bailey N 51 W 115
