Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinite

Now why, you may ask, is he showing a calculator? Have a look at the sum I’ve typed in – 87/0. I’m sure we all know what’ll happen when I hit the ‘=’ button. That’s right – Math Error! In elementary mathematics the result of division by zero is viewed as undefined. In certain areas of mathematics however – notably algebra and applied mathematics you’re likely to come across equations where as the value of one component grows smaller, the resultant becomes ever larger and is said to approach infinity – the classic example is y=1/x. Effectively – as x approaches zero, y approaches an infinitely large value. Logically then, Zero goes into any number an Infinite number of times – and the poor old calculator (along with the human brain) having no real way to comprehend that situation, throws a wobbly 😉