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In this usage, infinity is a mathematical concept, and infinite mathematical objects can be studied, manipulated, and used just like any other mathematical object. The mathematical concept of infinity refines and extends the old philosophical concept, in particular by introducing infinitely many different sizes of infinite sets.
Actual infinity is to be contrasted with potential infinity, in which an endless process (such as "add 1 to the previous number") produces a sequence with no last element, and where each individual result is finite and is achieved in a finite number of steps.
In philosophy and theology, infinity is explored in articles under headings such as the Absolute, God, and Zeno's paradoxes. In Greek philosophy , for example in Anaximander , 'the Boundless' is the origin of all that is.
The infinity symbol (∞) is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. This symbol is also called a lemniscate , [ 1 ] after the lemniscate curves of a similar shape studied in algebraic geometry , [ 2 ] or "lazy eight", in the terminology of livestock branding .
Euler's identity therefore states that the limit, as n approaches infinity, of (+ /) is equal to −1. This limit is illustrated in the animation to the right. Euler's formula for a general angle. Euler's identity is a special case of Euler's formula, which states that for any real number x,
The set of natural numbers (whose existence is postulated by the axiom of infinity) is infinite. [1] It is the only set that is directly required by the axioms to be infinite. The existence of any other infinite set can be proved in Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZFC), but only by showing that it follows from the existence of the natural numbers.
There is also a distinct projectively extended real line where + and are not distinguished, i.e., there is a single actual infinity for both infinitely increasing sequences and infinitely decreasing sequences that is denoted as just or as .
Infinity times zero is an ill-defined quantity, but E/c is well-defined. By this analysis, if the energy of a photon equals E in the rest frame, it equals ′ = in a moving frame. This result can be derived by inspection of Fig. 3-9 or by application of the Lorentz transformations, and is consistent with the analysis of Doppler effect ...