Some questions regarding the "measurement" and properties of infinity.

1. 72

   stanwshuraposted 4 years ago

   Some questions regarding the "measurement" and properties of infinity.
   
   To all you physics/math buffs out there - I've been wondering about how to "calculate" and/or deduce the relationships between infinities.
   
   First question:  Does infinity + infinity  =  infinity,  or does it equal  2infinity?
   
   2.   Does  infinity + 1 = infinity  or  infinity + 1 ?
   
   3.   Does  infinity * infinity  =  infinity  or  infinity-squared?
   
   4.   Does infinity/infinity  =   infinity,  or  does it equal 1?

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2. 93

   Benjimesterposted 4 years ago

   Infinity can't be added to or subtracted from.  It's not an actual number, just a concept.  Like the word Endless.  Endless doesn't represent anything real, just an idea that can be applied to something that will never stop.

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   1. 72

      stanwshuraposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Part of me agrees with you, but apparently some physicists, like Stephen Hawking argue that through certain techniques such as "normalization" infinities can be manipulated to produce finite results!  My head is spinning!

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3. 79

   Caleb DRCposted 4 years ago

   You know how a stopwatch goes like crazy with its hundredth numbers. They zip on by a hundred numbers per second. This is like infinity; it just does not stay put. You think you can add a number to it, 1 or a billion--it doesn't matter, but infinity is already way down the road. It does not stay put so you can do anything with it. + infinity, or - infinity are forever down the number line. Same goes for limits as the famous sin(x)/x. x can approach zero by moving the decimal point over to the left at the rate of a billion zeros per second--forever. It just can never equal zero, and conceptually, it never will.
   
   What do you think is normalization?  How does Hawking explain it?

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4. 69

   canforcesposted 4 years ago

   1) Infinity + Infinity = Infinity
   2) Infinity +1 = Infinity
   3) Infinity*Infinity = Infinity
   4) Infinity/Infinity is undefined.

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