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I looked it up here: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=zeroApparently derived from ML zephir and arabic sifr" Oddly enough it doesn't seem to be related to Zephyr which has a different etymology. Of course we use it represents the digit '0' use for positionally weighted numeric systems, regardless of base. The digits in the number system range from zero to the base minus one. So base 10 uses digits 0 through 9, inclusive; base 2, 0 through 1; base 8 zero through 7; base 16, 0 through 9 AND A through F). As a noun, it can also refer to the solutions of equations. It's the "cardinality" (size or magnitude) of the set with no elements. A zero can also mean an unpopular person. According to wiki, WWII Japanese fighter planes were called zero after 'Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_ZeroIt's also used as a verb. To zero an instrument means to set the value to zero. In computers it's often a synonym of "reset" when referring to registers (fast, on-chip memories in which computations are performed). M-W lists the following synonyms: aught, cipher, goose egg, naught (also nought), nil, nothing, o, oh, zilch, zip I remember my grandparents rarely said zero, instead preferring "aught" or "naught." With alphanumeric codes on the computer, it's often difficult to distinguish the numeral '0' from the letter 'O'. On the old teletypes, they used the null symbol, Ø, an 'oh' with a diagonal slash through it to distinguish it from the letter. You can see the null symbol over the letter 'P' here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmexico/2766045525/#/photos/ajmexico/2766045525/lightbox/(Teletypes only used capital letters, btw, which is why you don't see a "caps lock" key.)
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With alphanumeric codes on the computer, it's often difficult to distinguish the numeral '0' from the letter 'O'. On the old teletypes, they used the null symbol, Ø, an 'oh' with a diagonal slash through it to distinguish it from the letter. You can see the null symbol over the letter 'P' here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajmexico/2766045525/#/photos/ajmexico/2766045525/lightbox/(Teletypes only used capital letters, btw, which is why you don't see a "caps lock" key.) The teletypes we had in the '70s used Ø and 0 for the letter and the number, but there was no consistency from one teletype to another nor was there any necessary consistency between the keyboard and the type cylinder on any given machine. I was a student lab assistant in the computer room (time-sharing on a Xerox Sigma 6 mainframe) and became something of an expert in distinguishing between the number and the letter in students' printouts.
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The teletypes we had in the '70s used Ø and 0 for the letter and the number, but there was no consistency from one teletype to another nor was there any necessary consistency between the keyboard and the type cylinder on any given machine.
I never knew that. My experience with teletypes was limited to less than 10 and maybe only two or different brands. Interesting and noted. (Also, I just realized that I put this in the wrong group.)
Last edited by TheFallibleFiend; 05/27/11 01:19 AM.
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Your teletype looks like it's a lot older than the ones I worked with. We had TTY-33s. Not sure who made them.
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That picture was just an illustrative one I found on the web. The ones I used back in HS were from DEC. I'm not sure the model number. We had a pdp/8e marketed, IIRC, as Edusystem 25. Closeup of the front panel here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG77zE37f5wThe TTY w/ paper tape punch can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyDufWHsNVE&feature=relatedUnfortunately it's not a closeup of the TTY. At about 1 min in, you can hear the computer printing. We had two of these in our class; one can imagine what it sounded like to have been in that classroom. At college we graduated to Hollerith cards Example card punch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaVwzYN6BP4&feature=relatedThis was very slightly superior to paper tape, but still had significant drawbacks. I was too poor to afford a personal computer in college, but I could log in to their mainframe from home via my vt52 over a 300 bd modem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYvKzNEKF2w&feature=relatedI remember I bought it from my buddy for, I think, $50. Not much, but it was vastly superior to either the tape punch/TTY or the card punch. Unfortunately, we can't see closeups of any of the dang keyboards in those videos.
Last edited by TheFallibleFiend; 05/27/11 02:35 PM.
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At about 1 min in, you can hear the computer printing. We had two of these in our class; one can imagine what it sounded like to have been in that classroom.
We had about twelve in the room where I spent much of my lab assisting time. Two sounds like it would have been relatively quiet. When the computer crashed the message announcing the crash that came to all the time-sharing teletype terminals would ripple down the line. The students would all let out a groan and the lab assistant whould breathe a sigh of relief. The message, BTW, was: RECWERY SAYS SKND BY
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For a number that means 'nothing' the zero is pretty important.
Imagine 600 with out the noughts! Now think of it as $600
If it weren't for the Ø, it would only be $6.
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I have been reading a very interesting (for me, a totally non-math inclined person)titled One to Nine by Andrew Hodges. It has a good chapter on the concept and development of zero. In fact, this book has really made me think a lot more about numbers and how they are used.
~===,===,=^=<
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----please, draw me a sheep----
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Just posted the word 'Zero' in anagram thread but thought to find this thread to post this interesting short film.... Born into a world of numbers, an oppressed zero discovers that through determination, courage, and love, nothing can be truly something. ZERO
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