Ze"ro (?), n.; pl.
Zeros (#) or Zeroes. [F.
zéro, from Ar. çafrun,
çifrun, empty, a cipher. Cf. Cipher.]
1. (Arith.) A cipher; nothing;
naught.
2. The point from which the graduation of a
scale, as of a thermometer, commences.
☞ Zero in the Centigrade, or Celsius thermometer, and
in the Réaumur thermometer, is at the point at which water
congeals. The zero of the Fahrenheit thermometer is fixed at the point
at which the mercury stands when immersed in a mixture of snow and
common salt. In Wedgwood's pyrometer, the zero corresponds with
1077° on the Fahrenheit scale. See Illust. of
Thermometer.
3. Fig.: The lowest point; the point of
exhaustion; as, his patience had nearly reached zero.
Absolute zero. See under
Absolute. -- Zero method
(Physics), a method of comparing, or measuring, forces,
electric currents, etc., by so opposing them that the pointer of an
indicating apparatus, or the needle of a galvanometer, remains at, or
is brought to, zero, as contrasted with methods in which the
deflection is observed directly; -- called also null
method. -- Zero point, the point
indicating zero, or the commencement of a scale or reckoning.