The prefix bi- means 2. Similarly, the prefix tri- means 3. Originally, the billion was defined as a one followed by 12 zeros - twice as many as the million; while the trillion had three times as many zeros than the million. Somehow, the meaning changed over time, especially in English-speaking countries (to a one with 9 zeros for a billion, and a one with 12 zeros for a trillion).
Chat with our AI personalities
It COULD be called a Gigayear, but in practice it is simply called "a billion years".
In the US a trillion comes after a billion. In other countries, a billion is called a milliard and a billion would be equivalent to a trillion in US terms.
7 billion, 671 million
One billion
a billion (1 000 000 000) is called un milliard in French.