Infinity | infinity
MathematicalconceptInfinityisaconceptreferringtothatwhichisboundless,endless,orlargerthananynumber.Itisoftendenotedbytheinfinitysymbol∞{displaystyleinfty}.SincethetimeoftheancientGreeks,thephilosophicalnatureofinfinitywasthesubjectofmanydiscussionsamongphilosophers.Inthe17thcentury,withtheintroductionoftheinfinitysymbol[1]andtheinfinitesimalcalculus,mathematiciansbegantoworkwithinfiniteseriesandwhatsomemathematicians(includinglHôpitalandBernoulli)[2]regardedasinfinitelysmallquantities,butinf...
Mathematical concept
Infinity is a concept referring to that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol ∞{displaystyle infty }.
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[1] and the infinitesimal calculus, mathematicians began to work with infinite series and what some mathematicians (including lHôpital and Bernoulli)[2] regarded as infinitely small quantities, but infinity continued to be associated with endless processes.[3] 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.[1] At the end of the 19th century, Georg Cantor enlarged the mathematical study of infinity by studying infinite sets and infinite numbers, showing that the...