The Invention Of Zero.

When you were a little kid, even before you ever dealt with your first word problem in math class, you probably had to solve a problem something like this. You have four Starbursts, and you eat four Starbursts. What are you left with? That's right: sadness. And also no candy. But though even small kids can understand "nothing," the concept of "zero" is actually a bit more advanced; so advanced, in fact, that by the year 1200 C.E., it had only just barely reached the brightest mathematicians in Europe. This is the story of the invention of zero, and how a whole lot of nothing ended up changing the world.

Making Something Out Of Nothing.

It almost sounds impossible that ancient people wouldn't have the concept of "zero." Even animals can understand nothingness — just let your cat's dish go empty if you don't believe us. But there's a big difference between nothing as a tangible emptiness and zero as a mathematical concept. One forerunner of the mathematical zero can be seen in the earliest known counting system, devised by the Sumerians. At first, they'd use a blank space to indicate a nothing value, and when that grew confusing, they began using a pair of angled wedges as a placeholder for a blank space. But in a sense, that symbol indicated a lack of a number, not a number in and of itself.

Similar placeholders for an empty value can be found in other counting systems, including those of the Mayans and the Babylonians. But most scholars agree that zero as a mathematical concept originated in India. The earliest use of the round symbol that would become the universal zero comes from the Bakhshali manuscript, a merchant's document explaining mathematical equations for various transactions. It also included a placeholder zero in the form of a little black dot, and was in common parlance in India in the 3rd or 4th centuries C.E. Just a couple of centuries later, the symbol was used by legendary mathematical scholar Brahmagupta. In the 7th century, he wrote the earliest surviving explanation of how, exactly zero works: "When zero is added to a number or subtracted from a number, the number remains unchanged. A number multiplied by zero becomes zero."

He also worked out that subtracting a positive number from zero gave you a negative number, and that subtracting a negative number from zero gave you a positive. That's the first known account of knowing how zero works in relation to other numbers, and we can only assume he went on to coin the phrase, "Ditch the zero, get with the hero."

Arabic Zero.

Zero Goes Abroad.

After zero caught on in the Indian subcontinent, it was only a matter of time before other cultures began to recognize its significance. China and the Arabian peninsula were first (although it's worth noting that some historians believe the Arabic zero was a direct descendant of the zero precursors of Sumeria and Babylon), and it was in the Arabic numeral system that it first took the form of an empty oval. Muslim mathematicians called the symbol "sifr" (anglicized as "cipher"), and with it, invented both algebra and algorithms. And as Islam spread to Africa, zero came along for the ride.

But after that, it ran into some issues. Namely, Europeans. When the Moors conquered Spain, they brought their math along with them, and from there, zero made it to Italy. Where it was promptly outlawed. Yes, religious leaders of Europe saw the devil in that little blank circle, which they strongly associated with Islam. But the number didn't stop being useful, and merchants knew that very well. So when they'd include zeroes on their ledgers, they did so in secret — and the word "cipher" came to be synonymous with "code" in the process.

Fortunately for European mathematics, the taboo didn't last. Without zero, Newton and Leibniz wouldn't have been able to come up with calculus, Descartes couldn't have figured out how to graph points, and car dealers wouldn't be able to dazzle customers with the mysterious phrase "0% APR."

So that it for now friend. Meet you guys in another mind blowing article. Have any questions ask me in the comments. If you like this blog make sure to subscribe it for daily science article. If you want us to make a article on your favorite topics mail us, Thank you ,Have a great day.

The Lost Continent Beneath The Pacific Ocean

If there's one thing that excites us more than the idea of alien planets, it's the thought of what might be waiting beneath the surface of the ocean. Cthulu? Snorks? The lost continent of Atlantis? Unfortunately, science is a big party-pooper that says that probably none of those are actually real. Except...there really is a lost continent in the Pacific Ocean, and its highest point is the only part that's breached the surface. You know it as New Zealand, but there's a whole lot more Zealand where that came from.

Looking For Atlantis

Sail west from Sydney and you'll find Zealandia. Sort of. You won't be able to see it (not most of it, anyway), but deep beneath the ocean is a chunk of land spread out over 4.9 million square kilometers (about 3 million square miles) that broke off from Australia about 75 million years ago. Generally, we don't think of land masses as being continents if they're underwater — actually, we often don't even consider them to be land masses. But Zealandia meets pretty much all of the criteria: elevation above the surrounding area, a distinctive geology, a well-defined area, and a crust much thicker than that found on the ocean floor.

In one of the most intensive explorations of a "lost continent" ever, the Australian National University has launched a drill ship to explore Zealandia. The mission of the JOIDES Resolution is to collect sediment from the continental crust beneath the ocean, and test our theories about how and when Zealandia formed. Scientists currently believe that it was once a part of Gondwana, the supercontinent that also included Australia, Antarctica, Africa, and South America. But it probably broke off about 75 million years ago, and over the course of about 20 million years gradually spread itself so thin that it sank like an Oreo in milk. With core samples and mineral deposits, scientists will be able to strengthen these theories — or throw them out entirely.

An Army Of Atlantises

We've actually had an idea of Zealandia's existence since about 1919 (when it was known as Tasmantis), but it's not the only sunken continent on the planet. Another, much smaller, leftover of the great Gondwana break-up was discovered in 2017 and named "Mauritia" after Mauritia, one of its only parts to actually break the surface.

There are quite a few more of these continental crumbs, in fact, but only Zealandia has been deemed big enough to actually be described as a continent. The others, including Mauritia, Madagascar, and a bunch of tiny underwater islands you've probably never heard of, have all been deemed "microcontinents" or "continental fragments." But we prefer to think of them all as Snork sanctuaries.

So that it for now friend. Meet you guys in another mind blowing article. Have any questions ask me in the comments. If you like this blog make sure to subscribe it for daily science article. If you want us to make a article on your favorite topics mail us, Thank you ,Have a great day.