Division sign

In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of Division sign. Throughout history, Division sign has played a fundamental role in society, impacting people's lives in various ways. From its origins to the present, Division sign has been the object of fascination, study and debate, generating endless opinions and perspectives that enrich our understanding of this topic. Through this in-depth and detailed analysis, we will explore the most relevant aspects of Division sign, delving into its historical importance, its contemporary implications and the future perspectives it holds for us. Get ready to embark on a journey of discovery and knowledge about Division sign!

÷
Division sign
In UnicodeU+00F7 ÷ DIVISION SIGN (÷, ÷)
Different from
Different fromU+2052 COMMERCIAL MINUS SIGN
U+002B + PLUS SIGN
U+2020 DAGGER
U+034B ͋ COMBINING HOMOTHETIC ABOVE
Related
See alsoU+00D7 × MULTIPLICATION SIGN

The division sign (÷) is a mathematical symbol consisting of a short horizontal line with a dot above and another dot below, used in Anglophone countries to indicate the operation of division. This usage, though widespread in some countries, is not universal and the symbol has a different meaning in other countries. Its use to denote division is not recommended in the ISO 80000-2 standard for mathematical notation.

In mathematics

The obelus, a historical glyph consisting of a horizontal line with (or without) one or more dots, was first used as a symbol for division in 1659, in the algebra book Teutsche Algebra by Johann Rahn, although previous writers had used the same symbol for subtraction. Some near-contemporaries believed that John Pell, who edited the book, may have been responsible for this use of the symbol. Other symbols for division include the slash or solidus /, the colon :, and the fraction bar (the horizontal bar in a vertical fraction). The ISO 80000-2 standard for mathematical notation recommends only the solidus / or "fraction bar" for division, or the "colon" : for ratios; it says that the ÷ sign "should not be used" for division.

In Italy, Poland and Russia, the ÷ sign was sometimes used to denote a range of values, and in Scandinavian countries it was used as a negation sign.

The same symbol has been used to represent subtraction in north-eastern Europe: the Unicode Consortium has allocated a separate code point, U+2052 COMMERCIAL MINUS SIGN for this usage uniquely; the exact form of the symbol displayed is typeface (font) dependent.

In computer systems

Encoding

The symbol was assigned to code point 0xF7 in ISO 8859-1, as the "division sign". This encoding was transferred to Unicode as U+00F7. In HTML, it can be encoded as ÷ or ÷ (at HTML level 3.2), or as ÷.

Keyboard entry

In Microsoft Windows, this division sign is produced with Alt+0247 (or 246 with no zero) on the number pad, or by pressing Alt Gr+⇧ Shift++ when an appropriate keyboard layout is in use. In classic Mac OS and macOS, it is produced with ⌥ Option+/.

On UNIX-based systems using Screen or X with a Compose key enabled, it can be produced by composing : (colon) and - (hyphen/minus). It may also be produced using its Unicode code-point (F7), by pressing Control+⇧ Shift+u f7space.

In LaTeX, the division sign is obtained by the command \div.

In ChromeOS (with International/Extended keyboard setting), the division sign is obtained by pressing AltGr+⇧ Shift++. Otherwise, the Unix-style methods may be used.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b ISO 80000-2, Section 9 "Operations", 2-9.6
  2. ^ a b Cajori, Florian (1928). A history of mathematical notations. Vol. 1. Notations in Elementary Mathematics. The Open Court Company. pp. 242, 270–271. pp 270,271
  3. ^ Weisstein, Eric W. "Division". mathworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  4. ^ "Division". www.mathsisfun.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  5. ^ "6. Writing Systems and Punctuation" (PDF). The Unicode® Standard: Version 10.0 – Core Specification. Unicode Consortium. June 2017. p. 280, Obelus.
  6. ^ Leif Halvard Silli. "Too narrowly defined: DIVISION SIGN & COLON". Unicode.org.
  7. ^ Leif Halvard Silli. "Commercial minus as italic variant of division sign in German and Scandinavian context". Unicode.org.
  8. ^ Korpela, Jukka (2006), Unicode Explained: Internationalize documents, programs, and web sites, O'Reilly Media, Inc., p. 397, ISBN 9780596101213

External links

The dictionary definition of division sign at Wiktionary