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∞
The infinity symbol (\infty) is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. This symbol is also called a lemniscate, after the lemniscate curves of a similar shape studied in algebraic geometry, or "lazy eight", in the terminology of livestock branding. This symbol was first used mathematically by John Wallis in the 17th century, although it has a longer history of other uses. In mathematics, it often refers to infinite processes (potential infinity) rather than infinite values (actual infinity). It has other related technical meanings, such as the use of long-lasting paper in bookbinding, and has been used for its symbolic value of the infinite in modern mysticism and literature. It is a common element of graphic design, for instance in corporate logos as well as in older designs such as the Métis flag. Both the infinity symbol itself and several variations of the symbol are available in various character encodings. History The lemniscate has been a common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordinal Number
In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets. A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the least natural number that has not been previously used. To extend this process to various infinite sets, ordinal numbers are defined more generally as linearly ordered labels that include the natural numbers and have the property that every set of ordinals has a least element (this is needed for giving a meaning to "the least unused element"). This more general definition allows us to define an ordinal number \omega that is greater than every natural number, along with ordinal numbers \omega + 1, \omega + 2, etc., which are even greater than \omega. A linear order such that every subset has a least element is called a well-order. The axiom of choice implies that every set can be well-ordered, and given two well-ordered sets, one is isomorphic to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wallis
John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal court. He is credited with introducing the symbol ∞ to represent the concept of infinity. He similarly used 1/∞ for an infinitesimal. John Wallis was a contemporary of Newton and one of the greatest intellectuals of the early renaissance of mathematics. Biography Educational background * Cambridge, M.A., Oxford, D.D. * Grammar School at Tenterden, Kent, 1625–31. * School of Martin Holbeach at Felsted, Essex, 1631–2. * Cambridge University, Emmanuel College, 1632–40; B.A., 1637; M.A., 1640. * D.D. at Oxford in 1654 Family On 14 March 1645 he married Susanna Glynde ( – 16 March 1687). They had three children: # Anne Blencoe (4 June 1656 – 5 April 1718), married Sir John Blencowe (30 November 1642 – 6 May 1726) in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Projective Line
In mathematics, a projective line is, roughly speaking, the extension of a usual line by a point called a ''point at infinity''. The statement and the proof of many theorems of geometry are simplified by the resultant elimination of special cases; for example, two distinct projective lines in a projective plane meet in exactly one point (there is no "parallel" case). There are many equivalent ways to formally define a projective line; one of the most common is to define a projective line over a field ''K'', commonly denoted P1(''K''), as the set of one-dimensional subspaces of a two-dimensional ''K''-vector space. This definition is a special instance of the general definition of a projective space. The projective line over the reals is a manifold; see real projective line for details. Homogeneous coordinates An arbitrary point in the projective line P1(''K'') may be represented by an equivalence class of ''homogeneous coordinates'', which take the form of a pair : _1 : x_2/mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extended Real Numbers
In mathematics, the affinely extended real number system is obtained from the real number system \R by adding two infinity elements: +\infty and -\infty, where the infinities are treated as actual numbers. It is useful in describing the algebra on infinities and the various limiting behaviors in calculus and mathematical analysis, especially in the theory of measure and integration. The affinely extended real number system is denoted \overline or \infty, +\infty/math> or It is the Dedekind–MacNeille completion of the real numbers. When the meaning is clear from context, the symbol +\infty is often written simply as Motivation Limits It is often useful to describe the behavior of a function f, as either the argument x or the function value f gets "infinitely large" in some sense. For example, consider the function f defined by :f(x) = \frac. The graph of this function has a horizontal asymptote at y = 0. Geometrically, when moving increasingly farther to the right along the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, each letter with a fixed integer value, modern style uses only these seven: The use of Roman numerals continued long after the decline of the Roman Empire. From the 14th century on, Roman numerals began to be replaced by Arabic numerals; however, this process was gradual, and the use of Roman numerals persists in some applications to this day. One place they are often seen is on clock faces. For instance, on the clock of Big Ben (designed in 1852), the hours from 1 to 12 are written as: The notations and can be read as "one less than five" (4) and "one less than ten" (9), although there is a tradition favouring representation of "4" as "" on Roman numeral clocks. Other common uses include year numbers on monuments and buildings and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Mathematical Symbols
A mathematical symbol is a figure or a combination of figures that is used to represent a mathematical object, an action on mathematical objects, a relation between mathematical objects, or for structuring the other symbols that occur in a formula. As formulas are entirely constituted with symbols of various types, many symbols are needed for expressing all mathematics. The most basic symbols are the decimal digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), and the letters of the Latin alphabet. The decimal digits are used for representing numbers through the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. Historically, upper-case letters were used for representing points in geometry, and lower-case letters were used for variables and constants. Letters are used for representing many other sorts of mathematical objects. As the number of these sorts has remarkably increased in modern mathematics, the Greek alphabet and some Hebrew letters are also used. In mathematical formulas, the standard typeface is ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandroff Extension
In the mathematical field of topology, the Alexandroff extension is a way to extend a noncompact topological space by adjoining a single point in such a way that the resulting space is compact. It is named after the Russian mathematician Pavel Alexandroff. More precisely, let ''X'' be a topological space. Then the Alexandroff extension of ''X'' is a certain compact space ''X''* together with an open embedding ''c'' : ''X'' → ''X''* such that the complement of ''X'' in ''X''* consists of a single point, typically denoted ∞. The map ''c'' is a Hausdorff compactification if and only if ''X'' is a locally compact, noncompact Hausdorff space. For such spaces the Alexandroff extension is called the one-point compactification or Alexandroff compactification. The advantages of the Alexandroff compactification lie in its simple, often geometrically meaningful structure and the fact that it is in a precise sense minimal among all compactifications; the disadvantage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acid-free Paper
Acid-free paper is paper that, if infused in water, yields a neutral or basic (chemistry), basic pH (7 or slightly greater). It can be made from any cellulose fiber as long as the active acid pulp is eliminated during processing. It is also lignin- and sulfur-free. Acid-free paper addresses the problem of Preservation (library and archival science), preserving documents and Conservation (cultural heritage), preserving artwork for long periods. Overview Paper made from wood-based pulp that has not had its lignin removed turns yellow, becomes brittle, and deteriorates over time. When exposed to light and/or heat, the molecules in the acidic paper will break down even faster. Acidic wood-pulp paper became commonplace in the late 19th century, and in the 1930s William Barrow (chemist), William Barrow (a chemist and librarian) published a report about the deterioration of acidic paper in the libraries. For fear of the gradual disintegration of written materials, measures have since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lemniscate
In algebraic geometry, a lemniscate is any of several figure-eight or -shaped curves. The word comes from the Latin "''lēmniscātus''" meaning "decorated with ribbons", from the Greek λημνίσκος meaning "ribbons",. or which alternatively may refer to the wool from which the ribbons were made. Curves that have been called a lemniscate include three quartic plane curves: the hippopede or lemniscate of Booth, the lemniscate of Bernoulli, and the lemniscate of Gerono. The study of lemniscates (and in particular the hippopede) dates to ancient Greek mathematics, but the term "lemniscate" for curves of this type comes from the work of Jacob Bernoulli in the late 17th century. History and examples Lemniscate of Booth The consideration of curves with a figure-eight shape can be traced back to Proclus, a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 5th century AD. Proclus considered the cross-sections of a torus by a plane parallel to the axis of the tor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infinity
Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions among philosophers. In the 17th century, with the introduction of the infinity symbol and the infinitesimal calculus, mathematicians began to work with infinite series and what some mathematicians (including l'Hôpital and Bernoulli) regarded as infinitely small quantities, but infinity continued to be associated with endless processes. As mathematicians struggled with the foundation of calculus, it remained unclear whether infinity could be considered as a number or magnitude and, if so, how this could be done. At the end of the 19th century, Georg Cantor enlarged the mathematical study of infinity by studying infinite sets and infinite numbers, showing that they can be of various sizes. For example, if a line is viewed as the set of all o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topological Space
In mathematics, a topological space is, roughly speaking, a geometrical space in which closeness is defined but cannot necessarily be measured by a numeric distance. More specifically, a topological space is a set whose elements are called points, along with an additional structure called a topology, which can be defined as a set of neighbourhoods for each point that satisfy some axioms formalizing the concept of closeness. There are several equivalent definitions of a topology, the most commonly used of which is the definition through open sets, which is easier than the others to manipulate. A topological space is the most general type of a mathematical space that allows for the definition of limits, continuity, and connectedness. Common types of topological spaces include Euclidean spaces, metric spaces and manifolds. Although very general, the concept of topological spaces is fundamental, and used in virtually every branch of modern mathematics. The study of topological spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
