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.
Beware! Bourettes is binfectious.
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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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