Is 14,597.7 Billion = 14,597,700,000,000?

There are two scales used in the world to name numbers.

In the Short scale, the names go us very fast. This is the scale used in the USA.

A billion is a thousand million. A trillion is a thousand billion (= a million million)

a US billion = 1,000,000,000 (nine zeros)

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The long scale is more logical.

The name of a number comes from the "powers of a million"

A million million is a billion (from the Latin root "bi" meaning two)

A million million million = (million)^3 = a trillion (tri = 3)

(million)^4 = quadrillion (quad = 4)

In the long scale, the intermediate step between million and billion is called a "milliard".

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If your source is in the US (or in a country that uses the short scale),

14,597.7 billion = 14,597,700,000,000 (as you have it in your question)

It is almost 15 trillion.

If your source is in a country that uses the long count,

14,597.7 billion = 14,597,700,000,000,000

It is "only" 1/70 of a trillion (roughly).

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The long scale is still used by more people than the short scale. However, even that is being imposed to the rest of the world by American usage. The UK has seen its usage change over the last twenty years or so, in some scientific journals (e.g., Nature").

Australia finds itself forced to specify (in official documents) which one they are using in any particular instance (officially, they are still using the long scale, but are finding themselves forced more and more to use the much inferior short scale).

Gwtkof: according to Wikipedia, the UK government, BBC and most other sectors of published writing use the short scale of 1 billion = 10^9 and has done so for many years.

EDIT: Raymond, why is the short scale inferior?

yes.

Gwtkof is kidding.

14,597.7 billion is 14,597,700,000,000 everywhere (just Canadians, unlike Americans, no longer include commas in large numbers)

14,597,700,000,000,000 in england

14,597,700,000,000 in america

Edit: I am not kidding.

a billion in america= 1,000,000,000

a billion in England = 1,000,000,000,000

none of your money will be worth anything in one month! have fun!