There seems to be competing definitions of this symbol. Some linguistic organizations categorizes the symbol as a letter, while mathematics uses it as a number.
My question is that in common english usage, does Ø refer to zero or a phonetic letter?
I want to know because forms and codes often mix numbers with letters, i.e. XO874Y0. I was hoping to use this symbol to clarify my meaning when handwriting zeros and the letter O when there may be confusion as to whether is is a zero or an O.
Update:I don't know why Yahoo isn't letting me choose a best answer but I feel satisfied with the answers that when O and zero are used together and could be confused, the symbol clarifies that it is a zero. However, in mathematic and scientific contexts, it is exclusively used as a zero or a null set; in phonetics it is solely a variation of the pronunciation of the letter O in a given context.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
It refers to the symbol for zero when combined with numbers and letters like in your example, but it also substitutes at times for 'none.' Like... on a form if they ask how many kids you have, you can write the null symbol but if you're only writing numbers that are not easily confused with letters like in "I have 20 friends now,' you would not use the null.
If you use the bar to distinguish zero from O, then clearly it is a number. However, the O with a bar is used also in various formulas as a symbol, to represent the Greek letter "phi" in upper case
As far as i know its a zero, the line makes it easier to define from the letter o. They also do that with the number 7
They are called diphthongs and intended to indicate that the vowels are sounded together. In contrast if you put an umlaut (double dot) over the second vowel you pronounce them separately. Examples are naive, zoe and noel where the double dot should be over the second vowel in each case.
I vote for zero....(but then I am a scientist)