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/sci/ - Science & Math

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6035021 No.6035021 [Reply] [Original]

I know division by zero is sometimes allowed, but when?
and what does it equal?

>> No.6035024

> division by zero is sometimes allowed, but when?
no it isn't.

>> No.6035041

>>6035024
but it is, just not in ordinary arithmatic

>> No.6035049

>>6035041
Explain yourself, asshole

>> No.6035054

>>6035049
it's possible in a Riemann sphere but it's still undefined and tends to infinity

>> No.6035053

>>6035041
no not really.
when you actually take a calculus class, you'll see you aren't really just dividing by zero, you are looking at what the function does when it gets close to zero.
There's plenty of cheating you can do to remedy this, but it's not strictly "allowed"

>> No.6035055

>>6035053
calc = ordinary arithmatic
division by zero is only possible in a complex plane

>> No.6035057

>>6035054
I would take undefined to be the same thing as not allowed.
0/0 is undefined
0/1 is zero
1/0 tends to both +/- inf but isn't really "allowed"

>> No.6035059

>>6035057
A line x=3 is allowed, yet its slope is undefined

>> No.6035060

>>6035057
no, 1/0 is not just undefined, it's impossible

>> No.6035070

>>6035059
the slope isn't really "allowed" in being undefined. "allowed" is not a math term, don't treat it as such
we are talking about division by zero not being good math

>> No.6035074

it equals le feel meme

>> No.6035077

>>6035060
if you say it's impossible some autist will come out and go.
"nu uh my calculator says it's inf"
so impossible is a shit term to use. It is not really allowed seems to be a good term for this thread.
Depending on your math it's und, Inf, or +/-inf.
This is why I say division by zero is not "allowed"

>> No.6035084

You can divide by zero in projective lines, as >>6035054 mentioned. He seemed to suggest this is undefined, but 1/0 is infinity in the Riemann sphere and there is no problem with this definition. Similarly with the real projective line - 1/0 is infinity. There is no concept - in these spaces - of positive and negative infinity. Go negative enough and you reach infinity. Go positive enough and you reach the same infinity. In other words, the real projective line is homeomorphic to the circle.

>> No.6035093

It tends towards infinity.
Not that it matters. If you're dividing by 0, you're doing something wrong