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Discussion » Questions » Math » How many million a billion? A billion equals a thousand million. How bany billion in a trillion? UK/US?
RosieG

How many million a billion? A billion equals a thousand million. How bany billion in a trillion? UK/US?

In the AMERICAN system a trillion is one thousand times one billion

In the BRITISH system a trillion is one million times one billion.

T'was true once upon a time. Whether it still is or not I do not know. Even so what such a vast difference?

Posted - September 17, 2017
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Responses


  • 3719
    The power of US culture, commerce and politics has crushed the original difference; and most British commentators use the US versions because even the British money-traders tell 'em to do so.

    The original definitions were:

    1 Million = 1 000 000 = 1 X 10^6

    1 Billion = 1 000 000 000 000 = 1 Million Squared, i.e. 1 X 10^12 (law of indices & logarithms: to square the number double its logarithm)

    1 Trillion = 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 = 1 Million Cubed, i.e. 1 x 10^18. (3 times the log.)

    So we see the names reflect the power:

        Bi means 2, so Billion means the second power of one million,

          Tri means 3, so Trillion is the third power of one million.

    The original names were entirely arithmetical. Using them randomly, as in calling 1000 000 000 (= 10^ 9) a billion, without regard to the index or numbers of noughts, shows whoever instigated that did not really understand their definitions and etymology, so, sadly, rendered them mathematically meaningless. 
      

      October 3, 2017 3:52 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    Thank you so much for your thoughtful, helpful and very informative reply Durdle. When I looked it up I just got very confused.  I do better understanding cut-and-dried no exceptions things than I do with the wiggle room things. You really do have a gift for breaking down the complex into understandable sections. I'm going to read this reply a few more times. Happy Tuesday m'dear! :) This post was edited by RosieG at October 6, 2017 2:16 AM MDT
      October 4, 2017 1:51 AM MDT
    2

  • 3719
    Thank you very much Rosie! And a Happy Wednesday as it now is, to you!

    I don't know if it's happening in America, but I have noticed here in Britain that more and more people who ought know better, understand even quite ordinary words less and less. Consequently their speech and sometimes written texts are sometimes clumsy, ambiguous, and of dubious credibility. They know what they want to say, and as listener you know what they probably intend to mean, but it's as if schools in the last few decades stopped teaching anyone how to understand words rather than just know their simple meanings.
      October 4, 2017 7:51 AM MDT
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  • 2657
    WOW!. Didn't know there was a difference between a billion (I originally said million so edited it or correction) in the British numbering system and the U.S. numbering system. How confusing.
    https://mathforum.org/sanders/geometry/GP10BillionEtc.html

    A billion, in America, is a thousand million. That would be written like this:

    1,000,000,000

    If we wanted to make a book with a billion dollar signs, printed 1000 per page as before and with pages printed on both sides, our book would be 500,000 pages long.Now that's a very long book!

    Interestingly, in England, the British define a billion as a million million. That would be 1,000,000 times 1,000,000 which would be written like this:

    1,000,000,000,000 This post was edited by texasescimo at October 6, 2017 4:21 PM MDT
      October 6, 2017 2:18 AM MDT
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  • 3719
    There is a difference but it's become very blurred, so when you hear British journalists, politicians and money-traders talking about "billion pounds" they usually mean the American form.

    I'd love to let one waffle to me about some astronomical costs for something, then ask, "Yes, but do you mean ten-to-the-nine or ten-to-the-twelve?" - then if that baffles them, point out that damages my confidence in their knowledge of the subject.

    I've explained the etymology above, but increasingly now many modern Britons in their own country seem unable to understand even quite ordinary words and phrases properly, so the origins of the names for these big numbers would be lost on them.  
      October 6, 2017 3:27 PM MDT
    1