Infinite set | mathematics | Britannica (original) (raw)
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axiom of choice
In axiom of choice For infinite sets, however, it would take an infinite amount of time to choose elements one by one. Thus, infinite sets for which there does not exist some definite selection rule require the axiom of choice (or one of its equivalent formulations) in order to proceed… Read More
cardinal numbers
In set theory: Cardinality and transfinite numbers …the notion of equivalence to infinite sets was first systematically explored by Cantor. With ℕ defined as the set of natural numbers, Cantor’s initial significant finding was that the set of all rational numbers is equivalent to ℕ but that the set of all real numbers is not equivalent to… Read More
continuum hypothesis
In continuum hypothesis …of classifying the size of infinite sets according to the number of its elements, or its cardinality. (See set theory: Cardinality and transfinite numbers.) In these terms, the continuum hypothesis can be stated as follows: The cardinality of the continuum is the smallest uncountable cardinal number. Read More
foundations of mathematics
In foundations of mathematics: Foundational logic …postulates the existence of an infinite set. Since the simplest infinite set is the set of natural numbers, one cannot really say that arithmetic has been reduced to logic. Most mathematicians follow Peano, who preferred to introduce the natural numbers directly by postulating the crucial properties of 0 and the… Read More
In foundations of mathematics: Intuitionistic logic …which goes back to Aristotle, infinite sets do not exist, except potentially. In fact, it is precisely in the presence of infinite sets that intuitionists drop the classical principle of the excluded third. Read More
infinity
In infinity: Mathematical infinities …to compare the sizes of infinite sets, such as the set of points on a line (real numbers) or the set of counting numbers. Mathematicians are quickly struck by the fact that ordinary intuitions about numbers are misleading when talking about infinite sizes. Medieval thinkers were aware of the paradoxical… Read More
logic
In history of logic: Georg Cantor …the large, and in fact infinite, sets of the integers and points on the real number line. Although the Booleans had used the notion of a class, they rarely developed tools for dealing with infinite classes, and no one systematically considered the possibility of classes whose elements were themselves classes,… Read More
model theory
In metalogic: Satisfaction of a theory by a structure: finite and infinite models For infinite sets, however, the elements must be matched from set to set instead of being counted, and the “sizes” of these sets must thus be designated by transfinite numbers. A rather direct generalization can be drawn that says that, if a theory has any infinite… Read More
probability theory
In probability theory: Probability density functions …hold for random variables on infinite sample spaces. A useful interpretation of the central limit theorem stated formally in equation (12) is as follows: The probability that the average (or sum) of a large number of independent, identically distributed random variables with finite variance falls in an interval (_c_1, _c_2]… Read More
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Cantor
In Georg Cantor: Set theory …a set, whether finite or infinite, is a collection of objects (e.g., the integers, {0, ±1, ±2,…}) that share a particular property while each object retains its own individuality. But when Cantor applied the device of the one-to-one correspondence (e.g., {a, b, c} to {1, 2, 3}) to study the… Read More
In set theory …the revolutionary aspect of treating infinite sets as mathematical objects that are on an equal footing with those that can be constructed in a finite number of steps. Since antiquity, a majority of mathematicians had carefully avoided the introduction into their arguments of the actual infinite (i.e., of sets containing… Read More
Dedekind
In Richard Dedekind …collection of objects or components—is infinite if its components may be arranged in a one-to-one relationship with the components of one of its subsets. By supplementing the geometric method in analysis, Dedekind contributed substantially to the modern treatment of the infinitely large and the infinitely small. Read More
