Unsolved Questions - 1

The Mystery of Zero I recently got to know that some questions related to zero don't have any answers yet! Brahmagupta, a great mathematician in India, founded the number of zero in the 7th Century and made many rules when using that number, the results when you add, subtract and multiply zero by any number. But when it came to DIVIDING any number by zero... Well, he didn't give a solution. Later on Bhaskara, another mathematician in India stated that zero divided by a number would mean infinity! Then George Berkeley proved that was wrong saying that zero x infinity would mean any number, which I agree with. Time passed by, and the answer to that question was to be solved, and it just died out. But more questions came out, what was the result when you divide zero by zero? Normally it's one, but does zero have the same result too? Why is it considered as a real number then? I believe that people are really curious to find the correct answers which include you and me. So if you have any more information on my topic, just drop a reply. If not, just share your thoughts below! :)

#NumberTheory

Note by Hasna Hassen
1 year, 7 months ago

No vote yet
1 vote

  Easy Math Editor

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

  • Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
  • Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
  • Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
  • Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.

MarkdownAppears as
*italics* or _italics_ italics
**bold** or __bold__ bold

- bulleted
- list

  • bulleted
  • list

1. numbered
2. list

  1. numbered
  2. list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1

paragraph 2

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

[example link](https://brilliant.org)example link
> This is a quote
This is a quote
    # I indented these lines
    # 4 spaces, and now they show
    # up as a code block.

    print "hello world"
# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"
MathAppears as
Remember to wrap math in \( ... \) or \[ ... \] to ensure proper formatting.
2 \times 3 2×3 2 \times 3
2^{34} 234 2^{34}
a_{i-1} ai1 a_{i-1}
\frac{2}{3} 23 \frac{2}{3}
\sqrt{2} 2 \sqrt{2}
\sum_{i=1}^3 i=13 \sum_{i=1}^3
\sin \theta sinθ \sin \theta
\boxed{123} 123 \boxed{123}

Comments

https://brilliant.org/discussions/thread/infty-infty/ That's a nice definition for infinity, which could have potential ;) (even if it hurts the field axioms)

CodeCrafter 1 - 1 year, 6 months ago

Log in to reply

I thought about it the exact same way!

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 2 months ago

That's fascinating Hasna that mathematicians in India were pondering this question. And I would actually agree with Bhaskara (as it turns out, the discussion CodeCrafter linked to is one that I wrote!).

However, I would also agree with Berkeley, that 00\cdot\infty is undefined. Here's how I reconcile the two:

10=\frac{1}{0}=\infty

BUT

101\neq0\cdot\infty

because to get this result, we would have to multiply both sides of the equation by 00. However, this is not mathematically defined, since multiplying 00 by 10\frac{1}{0}, results in either 00\frac{0}{0} or 00\cdot\infty, both of which I would propose are undefined (and equal).

Thus, division by zero is indeed defined, but 00\cdot\infty (and 00\frac{0}{0}) is not. We cannot derive one from the other with defined mathematical operations either.

Hope this helps!

David Stiff - 1 year, 2 months ago

Log in to reply

I was thinking about this, but I got confused when it came to 0/0, because then again in my post, there wasn't an answer. But when you told me about 0 into infinity, things looked a bit more clearer. So thnx! :) Oh and go check out my other post, "Unsolved Questions-2"

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 2 months ago

My question may look stupid, but what exactly is your definition of infinity?

Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

Your question wasn't stupid, you made me think deeper than ever to find the answer to your question! Speaking of answers, as every one knows, infinity is an endless number - whuch gives me a new definition that it's a number with no value. But on the second thought, we can't say "no value" caz zero has no value. So since infinity is endless, according to my opinion, infinity is a number with the highest value, and nothing is above it. This was my opinion, how about yours?

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

@Hasna Hassen Well, I came up with a definition( It might not be perfect) but it is: "Infinity is equal to the sum of 'biggest number you know' and 1."

Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

@Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala And one? Oh so you mean "The biggest no. in the universe"+1? Was that what you meant?

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

@Hasna Hassen Sort of. You see, the idea is that ' the biggest number you know' is constantly changing( i.e. going further and further towards the left on the number line). This definition helps in defining infinity in limits, but forbids any integration into an algebraic equation.

Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala - 1 year, 1 month ago

@David Stiff Actually, the number system you're writing in now was created by Indians. Many pondered zeros and infinities, but it is ancient Indian astronomers and mathematicians credited for assigning a number to nothing.

Krishna Karthik - 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Log in to reply

Oh yes, that's right! It's funny when you think that there was a time when people didn't think of zero as a number!

David Stiff - 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Log in to reply

@David Stiff Yeah. It's actually quite cool how it's used as a placeholder in number systems, like our very own decimal system. I wonder what was used as a placeholder before zero was invented as a numerical value...

Krishna Karthik - 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Anyone else for a definition for infinity? It would be nice to share your ideas!

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 1 month ago

@Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala - Hmm. That makes sense. But sometimes when I get fed up finding the proper answer, I get the thought that since infinity is endlesss, maybe it's not a number at all! ;)

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

Well, I don't think that a definitive answer is found.

'The Hilbert's paradox' might interest you.....

Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

Where can I find that? What's it about?

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 1 month ago

Log in to reply

@Hasna Hassen It is a paradox regarding infinity.

You can read about it here - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27sparadoxoftheGrand_Hotel

It is often called "Hilbert's paradox of the grand hotel".

Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala - 1 year, 1 month ago

@Avyukta Manjunatha Vummintala I'm still 13, and that's a lot to read and understand! Maybe in a few days time, I'll go through it and comment about it.

Hasna Hassen - 1 year, 1 month ago

@Hasna Hassen Brahmagupta did not invent zero, it was Aryabhatta.

Krishna Karthik - 5 months, 3 weeks ago
×

Problem Loading...

Note Loading...

Set Loading...