[NT] Is there such thing as infinity?

[Arclight]

Multiply zero by anything and you get zero. Multiply infinity by anything and you get infinity. Dividing a number by zero yields infinity; dividing a number by infinity yields zero. Adding zero to a number leaves the number unchanged. Adding a number to infinity leaves infinity unchanged.

Zero is equal to infinity .. therefore if the universe is infinite , nothing exists

 

[EcK]

If the universe isn't infinite, when does it end?

When someone finally calls the cops over all the ruckus that Big Bang business did.

 

[EcK]

As I was saying to thatgirl on vent, infinity is a direction, not a destination

 

[INTP]

Multiply zero by anything and you get zero. Multiply infinity by anything and you get infinity. Dividing a number by zero yields infinity; dividing a number by infinity yields zero. Adding zero to a number leaves the number unchanged. Adding a number to infinity leaves infinity unchanged.

Zero is equal to infinity .. therefore if the universe is infinite , nothing exists

its more like 0 is to ∞ as -1 is to +1

 

[guesswho]

∞ - ∞ is undefined

 

[Perch420]

Multiply zero by anything and you get zero. Multiply infinity by anything and you get infinity. Dividing a number by zero yields infinity; dividing a number by infinity yields zero. Adding zero to a number leaves the number unchanged. Adding a number to infinity leaves infinity unchanged.

Zero is equal to infinity .. therefore if the universe is infinite , nothing exists

No.

 

[Shimmy]

Dividing a number by zero yields infinity

This is wrong. When you divide a number by another one, by definition the answer of that division multiplied by the number you divided with is the number you are dividing. When you divide by zero this is not the case as multiplying something by zero always gives you zero. Dividing by zero is mathematically impossible, and does not equal infinity.

30/6=5 gives 5*6=30
30/0=infinity does not give infinty*0=30

[YOUTUBE="yBdaumeA254"]To infinity and beyond[/YOUTUBE]

BTW. The shape of the universe is most likely a multi-dimensional (more than 3 dimensions) donut.

 

[funkadelik]

This is wrong. When you divide a number by another one, by definition the answer of that division multiplied by the number you divided with is the number you are dividing. When you divide by zero this is not the case as multiplying something by zero always gives you zero. Dividing by zero is mathematically impossible, and does not equal infinity.

30/6=5 gives 5*6=30
30/0=infinity does not give infinty*0=30

Right.

And that's an excellent video. In Part 2, the second man (not Graham) says it perfectly:
"You have to be very careful dealing with infinity, it's a very slippery concept."

But that's exactly what makes it so much fun to play with.

 

[funkadelik]

∞ - ∞ is undefined

Or rather, ∞ - ∞ = ∞
or 0
or 1,2,3,4,5...∞

 

[Salomé]

Infinity was invented to stop pissing contests going on for an infinitely long time.

 

[InvisibleJim]

1/-0 = ?

Overnumerousness.

I'm not entirely sure if it applies to the concept of the universe though. I haven't been that far.

 

[Arclight]

Argue with my High School math teacher guys.. not me please??..

PM me for her details, if you feel that strongly about what she taught me.

It's a pretty abstract concept.. therefore I am sure no answer is correct, nor can we use math to explain something abstract.
It's fun trying though.

 

[AgentF]

for those interested in mathematics history and philosophy, David Foster Wallace's book, on the history of infinity is fascinating! and, of course b/c it's DFW, extremely witty and well-written. highly highly recommend.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Infinity may exist in reality, but we will never be able to prove its existence.

 

[ThatGirl]

As I was saying to thatgirl on vent, infinity is a direction, not a destination

Eck I am putting this in my sig. I love it.

 

[funkadelik]

Argue with my High School math teacher guys.. not me please??..

PM me for her details, if you feel that strongly about what she taught me.

It's a pretty abstract concept.. therefore I am sure no answer is correct, nor can we use math to explain something abstract.
It's fun trying though.

Your math is neither correct, nor not correct. It's complicated. Think of it this way:

There's a sequence of numbers (1/2),(1/3),(1/4),(1/5)...(1/0)
and then you've got 1/(1/2), 1/(1/3), 1(1/4)...+∞ (ie. 2,3,4...+∞)

On the other hand you have (-1/2),(-1/3),(-1/4),(-1/5)...(-1/0)
and 1/(-1/2), 1/(-1/3), 1(-1/4)...-∞ (ie. -2,-3,-4...-∞)

So you want to "define" (1/0) as infinity (you want to give it that value). Despite the fact that ∞ isn't a real number, we'll call it a real number here for argument's sake.

So we've got our whole numbers increasing until positive infinity and we have our fractions going down further towards our limit of (1/0). But wait, now we've named that number ∞. Is it +∞ or -∞ if the other numbers are all increasing towards +∞?

Ok, well, let's look at it from the other side. We have our negative integers decreasing towards -∞ and our negative fractions going up towards....what? +∞? -∞? Oh no what do we call it??

We can't just call it negative or positive based on how we feel about it at that time (or based on which direction we're approaching it from - whether from the positive integer's viewpoint or the negative integer's viewpoint). So we say that (1/0) is undefined and infinity isn't a number.

It makes things much less messy and our mathematical axioms remain flowery and virginal.

 

[guesswho]

Ok, let's think in 2nd grade math.

If we give 1 apple to 0 people, will it result in an infinity of apples per person?

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

We're infinite aren't we? Our physical body is at least, because it can't be destroyed. Energy is infinite. It's not really a time, and it isn't space, it's what occupies that space. Anything that occupies space is a form of energy and therefore is infinite. Mathematically infinity can't really have a -/+ because it's everywhere and doesn't travel anywhere. It just is.

 

[guesswho]

Subatomic particles (quarks and electrons) are the smallest thing we know of that matter and energy are made of:

That's why we built a particle collider.

 

[MoneyTick]

I believe infinity is highly plausible.

In the context of quantum physics, an electron cannot be cut in half - but mathematically it can.

So mathematically - you can have 1/2 of an electron, then cut that half by another half, and that half by another half, and that half by another half ...

In reality, an electron is the smallest form of matter in existence and cannot be broken down further.

However, given that there is a LIMIT as to how small matter can get, there is no limit as to how MUCH matter exists. Therefore, the theory of infinity is plausible.