When we write ‘0’, we mean one of two things.
We use the character ‘0’ both for significant zeros and as a placeholder to shift other digits to the correct decimal place. This is not ordinarily a problem, but ambiguity may result when working with significant figures. Below are some number written with ‘Ø’ as the placeholder zero, side-by-side with their scientific notation for comparison.
| 1 | 1. * 100 |
| 10 | 1.0 * 101 |
| 1Ø | 1. * 101 |
| 5200 | 5.200 * 103 |
| 520Ø | 5.20 * 103 |
| Ø.20 | 2.0 * 10-1 |
| Ø.ØØ20 | 2.0 * 10-3 |
| 50.02 | 5.002 * 101 |
This insight is from Stanley Bebyn.