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Well-ordered
In mathematics, a well-order (or well-ordering or well-order relation) on a set ''S'' is a total order on ''S'' with the property that every non-empty subset of ''S'' has a least element in this ordering. The set ''S'' together with the well-order relation is then called a well-ordered set. In some academic articles and textbooks these terms are instead written as wellorder, wellordered, and wellordering or well order, well ordered, and well ordering. Every non-empty well-ordered set has a least element. Every element ''s'' of a well-ordered set, except a possible greatest element, has a unique successor (next element), namely the least element of the subset of all elements greater than ''s''. There may be elements besides the least element which have no predecessor (see below for an example). A well-ordered set ''S'' contains for every subset ''T'' with an upper bound a least upper bound, namely the least element of the subset of all upper bounds of ''T'' in ''S''. If ≤ is a ... [...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] |
Natural Numbers
In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country"). Numbers used for counting are called ''cardinal numbers'', and numbers used for ordering are called ''ordinal numbers''. Natural numbers are sometimes used as labels, known as ''nominal numbers'', having none of the properties of numbers in a mathematical sense (e.g. sports jersey numbers). Some definitions, including the standard ISO 80000-2, begin the natural numbers with , corresponding to the non-negative integers , whereas others start with , corresponding to the positive integers Texts that exclude zero from the natural numbers sometimes refer to the natural numbers together with zero as the whole numbers, while in other writings, that term is used instead for the integers (including negative integers). The natural numbers form a set. Many other number sets are built by success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural Number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country"). Numbers used for counting are called ''Cardinal number, cardinal numbers'', and numbers used for ordering are called ''Ordinal number, ordinal numbers''. Natural numbers are sometimes used as labels, known as ''nominal numbers'', having none of the properties of numbers in a mathematical sense (e.g. sports Number (sports), jersey numbers). Some definitions, including the standard ISO/IEC 80000, ISO 80000-2, begin the natural numbers with , corresponding to the non-negative integers , whereas others start with , corresponding to the positive integers Texts that exclude zero from the natural numbers sometimes refer to the natural numbers together with zero as the whole numbers, while in other writings, that term is used instead for the integers (including negative integers). The natural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transfinite Induction
Transfinite induction is an extension of mathematical induction to well-ordered sets, for example to sets of ordinal numbers or cardinal numbers. Its correctness is a theorem of ZFC. Induction by cases Let P(\alpha) be a property defined for all ordinals \alpha. Suppose that whenever P(\beta) is true for all \beta < \alpha, then is also true. Then transfinite induction tells us that is true for all ordinals. Usually the proof is broken down into three cases: * Zero case: Prove that is true. * Successor case: Prove that for any , follows from (and, if necessary, for all ). * Limit case: Prove that for any |
Axiom Of Choice
In mathematics, the axiom of choice, or AC, is an axiom of set theory equivalent to the statement that ''a Cartesian product of a collection of non-empty sets is non-empty''. Informally put, the axiom of choice says that given any collection of sets, each containing at least one element, it is possible to construct a new set by arbitrarily choosing one element from each set, even if the collection is infinite. Formally, it states that for every indexed family (S_i)_ of nonempty sets, there exists an indexed set (x_i)_ such that x_i \in S_i for every i \in I. The axiom of choice was formulated in 1904 by Ernst Zermelo in order to formalize his proof of the well-ordering theorem. In many cases, a set arising from choosing elements arbitrarily can be made without invoking the axiom of choice; this is, in particular, the case if the number of sets from which to choose the elements is finite, or if a canonical rule on how to choose the elements is available – some distinguishin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Well-ordering Principle
In mathematics, the well-ordering principle states that every non-empty set of positive integers contains a least element. In other words, the set of positive integers is well-ordered by its "natural" or "magnitude" order in which x precedes y if and only if y is either x or the sum of x and some positive integer (other orderings include the ordering 2, 4, 6, ...; and 1, 3, 5, ...). The phrase "well-ordering principle" is sometimes taken to be synonymous with the "well-ordering theorem". On other occasions it is understood to be the proposition that the set of integers \ contains a well-ordered subset, called the natural numbers, in which every nonempty subset contains a least element. Properties Depending on the framework in which the natural numbers are introduced, this (second order) property of the set of natural numbers is either an axiom or a provable theorem. For example: * In Peano arithmetic, second-order arithmetic and related systems, and indeed in most (not necessari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Type
In mathematics, especially in set theory, two ordered sets and are said to have the same order type if they are order isomorphic, that is, if there exists a bijection (each element pairs with exactly one in the other set) f\colon X \to Y such that both and its inverse are monotonic (preserving orders of elements). In the special case when is totally ordered, monotonicity of implies monotonicity of its inverse. For example, the set of integers and the set of even integers have the same order type, because the mapping n\mapsto 2n is a bijection that preserves the order. But the set of integers and the set of rational numbers (with the standard ordering) do not have the same order type, because even though the sets are of the same size (they are both countably infinite), there is no order-preserving bijective mapping between them. To these two order types we may add two more: the set of positive integers (which has a least element), and that of negative integers (which has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Well-ordering Theorem
In mathematics, the well-ordering theorem, also known as Zermelo's theorem, states that every set can be well-ordered. A set ''X'' is ''well-ordered'' by a strict total order if every non-empty subset of ''X'' has a least element under the ordering. The well-ordering theorem together with Zorn's lemma are the most important mathematical statements that are equivalent to the axiom of choice (often called AC, see also ). Ernst Zermelo introduced the axiom of choice as an "unobjectionable logical principle" to prove the well-ordering theorem. One can conclude from the well-ordering theorem that every set is susceptible to transfinite induction, which is considered by mathematicians to be a powerful technique. One famous consequence of the theorem is the Banach–Tarski paradox. History Georg Cantor considered the well-ordering theorem to be a "fundamental principle of thought". However, it is considered difficult or even impossible to visualize a well-ordering of \mathbb; such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Integer
An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign (−1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the language of mathematics, the set of integers is often denoted by the boldface or blackboard bold \mathbb. The set of natural numbers \mathbb is a subset of \mathbb, which in turn is a subset of the set of all rational numbers \mathbb, itself a subset of the real numbers \mathbb. Like the natural numbers, \mathbb is countably infinite. An integer may be regarded as a real number that can be written without a fractional component. For example, 21, 4, 0, and −2048 are integers, while 9.75, , and are not. The integers form the smallest group and the smallest ring containing the natural numbers. In algebraic number theory, the integers are sometimes qualified as rational integers to distinguish them from the more general algebraic integers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardinal Number
In mathematics, cardinal numbers, or cardinals for short, are a generalization of the natural numbers used to measure the cardinality (size) of sets. The cardinality of a finite set is a natural number: the number of elements in the set. The ''transfinite'' cardinal numbers, often denoted using the Hebrew symbol \aleph ( aleph) followed by a subscript, describe the sizes of infinite sets. Cardinality is defined in terms of bijective functions. Two sets have the same cardinality if, and only if, there is a one-to-one correspondence (bijection) between the elements of the two sets. In the case of finite sets, this agrees with the intuitive notion of size. In the case of infinite sets, the behavior is more complex. A fundamental theorem due to Georg Cantor shows that it is possible for infinite sets to have different cardinalities, and in particular the cardinality of the set of real numbers is greater than the cardinality of the set of natural numbers. It is also possible for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-strict Order
In mathematics, especially order theory, a partially ordered set (also poset) formalizes and generalizes the intuitive concept of an ordering, sequencing, or arrangement of the elements of a set. A poset consists of a set together with a binary relation indicating that, for certain pairs of elements in the set, one of the elements precedes the other in the ordering. The relation itself is called a "partial order." The word ''partial'' in the names "partial order" and "partially ordered set" is used as an indication that not every pair of elements needs to be comparable. That is, there may be pairs of elements for which neither element precedes the other in the poset. Partial orders thus generalize total orders, in which every pair is comparable. Informal definition A partial order defines a notion of comparison. Two elements ''x'' and ''y'' may stand in any of four mutually exclusive relationships to each other: either ''x'' ''y'', or ''x'' and ''y'' are ''incompara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Binary Relation
In mathematics, a binary relation associates elements of one set, called the ''domain'', with elements of another set, called the ''codomain''. A binary relation over Set (mathematics), sets and is a new set of ordered pairs consisting of elements in and in . It is a generalization of the more widely understood idea of a unary function. It encodes the common concept of relation: an element is ''related'' to an element , if and only if the pair belongs to the set of ordered pairs that defines the ''binary relation''. A binary relation is the most studied special case of an Finitary relation, -ary relation over sets , which is a subset of the Cartesian product X_1 \times \cdots \times X_n. An example of a binary relation is the "divides" relation over the set of prime numbers \mathbb and the set of integers \mathbb, in which each prime is related to each integer that is a Divisibility, multiple of , but not to an integer that is not a multiple of . In this relation, for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
