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The mathematical concept of infinity refines and extends the old philosophical concept, in particular by introducing infinitely many different sizes of infinite sets. Among the axioms of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory , on which most of modern mathematics can be developed, is the axiom of infinity , which guarantees the existence of infinite ...
Actual infinity is now commonly accepted in mathematics under the name "infinite set". Indeed, set theory has been formalized as the Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZF). One of the axioms of ZF is the axiom of infinity, that essentially says that the natural numbers form a set. All mathematics has been rewritten in terms of ZF.
Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel (colloquial: Infinite Hotel Paradox or Hilbert's Hotel) is a thought experiment which illustrates a counterintuitive property of infinite sets. It is demonstrated that a fully occupied hotel with infinitely many rooms may still accommodate additional guests, even infinitely many of them, and this process may ...
Cantor said: The actual infinite was distinguished by three relations: first, as it is realized in the supreme perfection, in the completely independent, extra worldly existence, in Deo, where I call it absolute infinite or simply absolute; second to the extent that it is represented in the dependent, creatural world; third as it can be conceived in abstracto in thought as a mathematical ...
Modern discussion of the infinite is now regarded as part of set theory and mathematics. Contemporary philosophers of mathematics engage with the topic of infinity and generally acknowledge its role in mathematical practice. Although set theory is now widely accepted, this was not always so.
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 .
The concept of the existence of an actual infinity was an important shared concern within the realms of mathematics, philosophy and religion. Preserving the orthodoxy of the relationship between God and mathematics, although not in the same form as held by his critics, was long a concern of Cantor's. [ 74 ]
An infinite series of any rational function of can be reduced to a finite series of polygamma functions, by use of partial fraction decomposition, [8] as explained here. This fact can also be applied to finite series of rational functions, allowing the result to be computed in constant time even when the series contains a large number of terms.