Positional numeral system | mathematics | Britannica (original) (raw)
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major ref.
In numerals and numeral systems: Positional numeral systems The decimal number system is an example of a positional system, in which, after the base b has been adopted, the digits 1, 2, …, b − 1 are given special names, and all larger numbers are written as sequences of these… Read More
number systems
In numeral system …the symbol depends upon the position or place of the symbol in the representation; for example, the 2 in 20 and 200 represents two tens and two hundreds, respectively. Most ancient systems, such as the Egyptian, Roman, Hebrew, and Greek numeral systems, did not have a positional characteristic, and this… Read More
historical development
Archimedes
In Archimedes: His works …effect, is to create a place-value system of notation, with a base of 100,000,000. (That was apparently a completely original idea, since he had no knowledge of the contemporary Babylonian place-value system with base 60.) The work is also of interest because it gives the most detailed surviving description of… Read More
In India: Society and culture …of the cipher and the decimal system is confirmed by inscriptions. With advances in mathematics there was comparable progress in astronomy. Aryabhata, writing in 499, calculated π (pi) to 3.1416 and the solar year to 365.3586… days and stated that the Earth was spherical and rotated on its axis. That… Read More
Mayan civilization
In pre-Columbian civilizations: The Maya calendar and writing system …mathematics included two outstanding developments: positional numeration and a zero. These may rightly be deemed among the most brilliant achievements of the human mind. The same may also be said of ancient Maya astronomy. The duration of the solar year had been calculated with amazing accuracy, as well as the… Read More
