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The concept of zero appeared and made sense relatively recently – only in the 5th century AD Until that moment, mathematicians tried to perform only the simplest arithmetic calculations. Today zero as a symbol (or figure) – a concept meaning the absence of any quantity, which allows us to perform calculations and solve complex equations. It is believed that the first account system appeared in Sumerians. Later, it was greatly improved by the scholars of Babylon. IN Sumerian account system, the value of the symbol depended directly on its provisions in relation to other characters. Robert Kaplan, author The Natural History of Zero book suggests that the distant the ancestor of modern zero was a pair of angular wedges, which used to show that the column in the table is empty. Not however, the scholars of Babylon never developed the idea of zero as a number. Six hundred years later, Mayan mathematicians used the concept of “voids”, that is, zero in their complex calendar calculations. Zero for them served as the boundary between the old and the new cycle. However, in equations and calculations, zero was still not used. Some scholars believe Indian maths borrowed the original concept of zero among the Babylonians. Others, on the contrary, believe that Indian zero, as a number, developed independently. The concept of zero first appeared in India around the beginning of 5 century AD Mathematical equations were stated in the form of poetry or chants, but not indicated by symbols. Words like “emptiness”, “sky” or “space” originally symbolized zero. And in 628, the Indian astronomer and mathematician Brahmagupt enclosed the abstract concept of zero in a dot symbol. Also he developed mathematical operations using this figure, wrote the rules for achieving zero by adding and subtracting, and also unveiled the results of using zero in equations. It was thanks to him that for the first time zero was recognized not only as an idea, but also as a number. Over the next several centuries, the concept of zero how numbers have gained popularity in both China and the Middle East. AND zero has become an integral part of the Arab settlement system, which was based on the Indian system. Persian mathematician Mohammed with using zero, he developed methods for fast multiplication and division of numbers, which are known as algorithms. A little later zero paved his way and to Europe. The Italian mathematician Fibonacci used it in based on accounts that soon became the most common arithmetic tools actions and gained immense popularity among traders. At the beginning 16th century zero was widely used throughout Europe. This event spurred and accelerated the birth of a rectangular coordinate system Rene Descartes, discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm. In addition, it was thanks to zero that such a science as physics became to develop and improve much faster and as a result – modern technological developments, including all of us favorite computer.
Sergey Vasilenkov
India
