How many zeros are in centillion?

Answer 1

In the US system (short scale) a centillion is 10303 so it would be 1 followed by 303 zeroes. The short scale assigns values to named numerals by orders of 1000.

The competing scale (long scale) adds numeral names by millions, so that a billion is a million million, and a trillion is a million billion. In this system, still used in Europe and occasionally in the UK, a centillion is 10600 or 1,000,000100 so it would be 1 followed by 600 zeros.

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Our American forefathers decided the British system was too unwieldy so invented their own system. Unfortunately, when using the American system, the elegance of the British system is lost. In the British system, a billion is a million squared, a trillion is a million cubed, etc. all the way to a centillion which is one million to the 100th power. With the American system, we use the term billion but the prefix bi does not mean two of anything, it is just a counter. Today the British and others have simplified trade and finance by adopting the US system.

* The British switched to the short scale in 1974. There is an official statement to that by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons. (see the related link)
A centillion in the US (short scale) is equal to 10303 (303 zeroes).

In the UK (long scale) a centillion would be 10600 (600 zeroes)

The short scale is now widely used worldwide, and advances the number names for each factor of 1000 (1 billion = 1000 million). The long scale advances by factors of 1,000,000 (1 billion = 1 million million).

Answer 2

303

Answer 3

303