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Zero originated in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago with the Sumerians, who used it as a placeholder, not a number. Their base-60 system influenced time and geometry. Though they couldn't calculate with zero, they developed a positional system using cuneiform script. These innovations laid key groundwork for future math advancements. -
Al-Khwārizmī’s accomplishments include writing a treatise on Hindu-Arabic numerals and introducing decimal position notation which we still use today.
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Brahmagupta wrote a book called “Brahmasphutasiddhanta” which means “the opening of the universe”
(Brahmagupta and the Concept of Zero – ScienceOpen, n.d.). -
The Hindu-Arabic numeral system gained popularity due to its simplicity and efficiency over Roman numerals. Fibonacci, after studying math across various cultures, introduced the system to Europe through his book Liber Abaci. Though adoption was slow, it eventually replaced Roman numerals due to its advantages. Fibonacci is also known for the Fibonacci sequence, a recursive pattern found widely in nature, made possible by earlier mathematical developments like zero. -
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invented the binary numeral system.
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The number zero allowed for the idea of calculus to be discovered and developed.
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A few discoveries in the world of science that hinged on zero include absolute zero which refers to temperate 0 Kelvin.
Why Do We Need Zero? (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2025, from http://5010.mathed.usu.edu/Fall2018/LPierson/whyzero.html -
In his annus mirabilis, Einstein publishes papers on the special theory of relativity, on the photoelectric effect and on Brownian motion.
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Einstein’s general theory of relativity relied on three tests, including the deflection of light by gravity. Arthur Eddington led a 1919 eclipse expedition to test this. Despite delays from WWI, he measured starlight bending around the Sun, confirming Einstein’s prediction and disproving Newton’s. His findings supported the theory that massive objects curve spacetime, affecting light.
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Einstein’s theory suggested space could expand or contract. Edwin Hubble built on this and discovered galaxies are moving away from us, proving the universe is expanding—now known as Hubble’s Law. Hubble, originally a lawyer, returned to astronomy and used Mount Wilson’s telescope to find Cepheid stars in Andromeda, showing it lay beyond the Milky Way. This challenged prior beliefs and expanded our understanding of the cosmos.
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Joseph Weber builds the first "resonant bar detectors."
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The theory of relativity has direct correlation with GPS. Without Einstein's theory our GPS’s would lead us miles away from our destinations.
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NASA launched a spacecraft called Gravity Probe B specifically designed to watch Einstein’s theory play out in the orbit of Earth.
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