omega0684
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:07 AM |
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have i found a flaw in wikipedia?
i was looking up the definition of one billion to find out how many 0's it should have, im certain it was 12 zeros as a biliion is a million
million, right
this is what wikipedia says,
The long and short scales are two of the several different numerical systems used throughout the world:
Short scale is the English translation of the French term échelle courte.[1] It refers to a system of numeric names in which every new term
greater than million is 1,000 times the previous term: billion means a thousand millions (10^9), trillion means a thousand billions (10^12), and so
on.
Long scale is the English translation of the French term échelle longue. It refers to a system of numeric names in which every new term greater
than million is 1,000,000 times the previous term: billion (from bi and million) means a million to the power of two or a million millions (10^12),
trillion (from tri and million) means a million to the power of three or a million billions (10^18), and so on.
it the short scale it says a billion is 10^9 and in the long scale it says a billion is 10^12?
so which is it?
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philw
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:09 AM |
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Are you counting your money?
Must try harder
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flak monkey
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:10 AM |
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Generally accepted now that 1 billion is 9 zeros.
This is the old story of why America had billionaires and the UK didnt. Uk always used to be 12 zeros and the US 9 zeros.
Sera
http://www.motosera.com
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MikeR
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:11 AM |
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Both - there are two definitions.........
 great isn't it.
I was under the impression generally the americans used the short version and the brits used the long version.
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:15 AM |
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I believe the fact that Craig Venter is American is why often figures used in modern human genetics are quoted using the short scale 10^9 for 1
billion.
[Edited on 26/8/09 by cd.thomson]
Craig
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:15 AM |
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I think everyone uses 10^9 now. It certainly makes more sense anyway.
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scottc
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:18 AM |
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I thought we'd switch to Thousand Million to.
http://www.sotoconnect.com
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coozer
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:21 AM |
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Problem with Wiki is that anyone can edit it to say what ever they like... so always to be taken with a pinch of salt.
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:25 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by coozer
Problem with Wiki is that anyone can edit it to say what ever they like... so always to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Still its only marginally more flawed than the encyclopedia britannica (4 errors per article rather than 3 on average) due to its editing/writing
protocols and peer review process.
Craig
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tomprescott
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 10:48 AM |
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Most commonly accpeted is shortscale 10^9, although 10^12 is still valid. Increased cooperation between UK and US banks (as evidenced by the
recession, cheers Gordon!) has further cemented the widespread use of 10^9 as a billion, 10^12 under the same system would now be a trillion(?).
HTH
I agree with Craig, Wiki is usually as reliable as any other source, however, if you're writing an academic piece don't use it as a
reference - because its not peer assessed!
[Edited on 26/8/09 by tomprescott]
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RK
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 12:01 PM |
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All I know is that a billion UK pounds is worth almost double a billion Cdn $ - unless you live in the UK, where things are almost doubly expensive,
and then it wouldn't matter.
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02GF74
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 01:03 PM |
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both are correct.
check out milliard
these numbers do not bother me as I don't have a million pounds let alone a milliard/billion/whippyzillion pounds.
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blakep82
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 03:40 PM |
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1,000 thousand
1,000,000 million
1,000,000,000 billion
1,000,000,000,000 trillion
as i understand it
________________________
IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083
don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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JoelP
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 06:12 PM |
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i found out the other day that quadrillion is the one above trillion, but then the pattern seems obvious and it would be quintrillion next 
And everyone uses short nowadays IMHO.
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02GF74
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 07:07 PM |
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a marillion is how much?
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ken555
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| posted on 26/8/09 at 07:50 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
a marillion is how much?
One Fish ?
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