七 25, 2009
How much is a Billion??
Counting from one to five is so easy that many of us can do it in more than one language. Bigger numbers are more of a challenge.
In the UK, for example, one billion is significantly more than it is in the US. Using the British numbering system(sometimes referred to as “Long scale”), one billion is a million million, while the US system(sometimes referred to as “short scale”)favours a thousand million. So, in the US, a billion is 1,000,000,000 or 10ˆ9, and in the UK a billion is 1,000,000,000,000 or 10^12, which, in the US, just happens to be a trillion; and then there are quadrillions,quintillions,googols,and googolplexes…
Well, u see now…we can hardly communicate with each other…or…shall we say China has 1.3 billion population? or 1.3 trillion?? =.=
