Wikinventia — Atlas of discoveries and inventions · Middle Age

Arithmetic of zero and negative numbers — Brahmagupta

628 AD · Transmission: Global
MathematicsSystemDiscoveryIndian

Brahmagupta formalizes in the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta (628) the rules for operating with zero: a+0=a, a×0=0, and the first attempts at 0÷0. He also defines the rules for negative numbers ("debts"). First mathematical systematization of zero as a fully operable number.

InstitutionBhinmal — Rajasthan
Historical regionIndian subcontinent
Primary sourceBrahmagupta — Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta (628 AD), chapter XVIII "Kuttaka"
Secondary sourceMacTutor, St Andrews — Brahmagupta
Original languageSanskrit
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