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  "body": "\n## Summary\n\nAn absorbing element, or zero element, for a [[binary operation|0M418FE7BB]] is an element that turns every product it enters into itself.\nThe number $0$ is absorbing for multiplication of numbers, and the empty set is absorbing for intersection.\nA binary operation has at most one two-sided absorbing element.\nAbsorbing elements are central in semigroup theory and in rings, where $0$ is absorbing for multiplication.\n\n## Explanations\n\n### L1 human\n\nAn absorbing element swallows everything it meets.\nMultiply any number by $0$ and you get $0$.\nIntersect any set with the empty set and you get the empty set.\nFor the operation $\\max$ on the interval $[0, 1]$, the number $1$ is absorbing, since $\\max(x, 1) = 1$.\n",
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