The ZERO concept as a number is relatively new. But humans have long understood the concept of nothingness or nothing.
ZERO became the first developed figure in India. Before that, mathematicians still had trouble making even the simplest arithmetic calculations.
Today, ZERO, both as a symbol (or number) and a concept of a lack of quantity, helps human beings in doing calculus until they find computers.
Zero figures found in India have long been widely recognized as the greatest innovation in human history. "It is the cornerstone in modern mathematics and physics, and encourages technological development," said Peter Gobets, of the ZerOrigIndia Foundation, the institute that researched the origin of ZERO figures, as reported by Live Science, recently.
ZERO as a filler of void calculations in the past, before the known NOL digits, marked as symbols. For example, the number 10-100, or the number 2,025. To mark the ZERO, some are emptying, some are replaced with symbols. This history can be traced back to Babylonia, the Maya, then finally to India.
In India, originally mistaken for the earliest recording of ZERO numbers was the encryption on the walls of the temple at Gwalior from the 9th century. Later the Bhakshali manuscript was discovered in 1881, which was originally thought to be from the 9th century. Apparently, from the process of calendar by radiokarbon method, it is known that the manuscript was from the 3rd century or the 5th AD.
NOL was later recognized in Chinese and Middle Eastern cultures and became part of the Arabic numerical system, based on the Indian system.
The Persian mathematician, Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khowarizmi, suggested a small circle be used in calculations if no numbers appeared on the dozens. ZERO was essential to al-Khowarizmi who discovered the algebra in the 9th century and developed a quick method to multiply and separate the numbers, now known as algorithms, inspired by the name al-Khowarizmi.
ZERO entered Europe when the Moor conquered Spain and was further developed by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci. ZERO underlies the Cartesian coordinate system of Rene Descartes, in the calculus developed by Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhem Liebniz. Calculus paves the way to physics, engineering, computer, finance, and economic theories.