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destroyed. Jain philosophy, while dealing with only eternal matter or phenomenon, has disregarded the use of digit 'zero' in counting or in mathematical operation.
For instance, a black parmanu (dion) on association with other parmanus may increase or decrease the nature of black colour but it will never completely lose the original property of colour i.e. colour property will not reduce to 'zero'.
The evolutionary or deductive methodology of modern mathematics necessarily need to have 'zero' quantity (digit), because of its subsequent applications to segregate existent and non-existent, real or imaginary quantity etc. This was not the case in olden ages. As such the necessity to use 'zero' did not exist in that era's philosophy. Instead of zero, Jain philosophy considered the term 'tending to zero' as more appropriate. Such an example is found in relation to the measurement of heat by the modern scientists:
There are two units prevalent for the measurement of temperature:
Centigrade scale - °C (Degree Celsius)
Absolute scale - °K (Degree Kelvin)
When we say that water freezes at 0°C, it does not mean that the heat energy has reduced to zero. Below 0°C, negative temperatures are used such as -50°C - temperature of Antarctica. This however does not mean negative energy. Therefore, scientists developed another scale of 0°K which means absolute zero energy at 0°K. In this absolute scale of heat, the ice temperature of 0°C is referred as 273°K above absolute zero. Accordingly, -50°C becomes 223°K. There is no negative value in this scale. Liquid gases exhibit temperatures below 273°K. In the experiments of superconductivity, the scientists were successful in achieving temperatures as low as 3-4 "K. But then, how to explain 0°K? Entity ceases to exist at that instant. 0°K is thus treated as absolute zero and there is a clear conception in the field of science that this temperature (heat) is only notional and not real. At absolute zero, no properties have any relevance in physics.
Another example from the world of science is the properties of a photon :
Photon is treated as a bundle of energy with zero-mass (massless) at rest.
Photons travel at the speed of light and acquire mass which cannot be measured due to its motion.
Once again, the scientists say that the absolute zero mass is only notional and even at rest it only tends to become zero. These two examples establish a close analogy between science and Jainism.
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