Subscript Two

Subscript Two at U+2082 is a small lowered digit 2 used to show an index, count, or second position below the text baseline. It belongs to the Superscripts and Subscripts block and is a printable numeric symbol rather than a formatting command that turns ordinary digits into subscripts. Its most familiar use is in chemical formulas, where it marks the number of atoms of an element in a molecule: H₂O has two hydrogen atoms, CO₂ has two oxygen atoms, and O₂ is diatomic oxygen. It also appears in scientific and engineering labels such as log₂ for a base-two logarithm, x₂ for a second component or indexed variable, and V₂ for a second measured value. Writers sometimes use it in plain text when rich text formatting is unavailable or inconvenient, especially in article titles, social media posts, filenames, and database fields that need formulas to remain readable. It should not be confused with the ordinary digit 2, because searches, sorting, and identifier matching may treat them as different characters even when the meaning looks obvious to a reader.