Aleph Number
In set theory, a discipline within mathematics, the aleph numbers are a sequence of numbers used to represent the cardinality (or size) of infinite sets. They are named after the symbol used to denote them, the Hebrew letter aleph .
The cardinality of the natural numbers is (read aleph-naught, aleph-null, or aleph-zero), the next larger cardinality is aleph-one, then and so on. Continuing in this manner, it is possible to define a cardinal number for every ordinal number α, as described below.
The concept goes back to Georg Cantor, who defined the notion of cardinality and realized that infinite sets can have different cardinalities.
The aleph numbers differ from the infinity (∞) commonly found in algebra and calculus. Alephs measure the sizes of sets; infinity, on the other hand, is commonly defined as an extreme limit of the real number line (applied to a function or sequence that "diverges to infinity" or "increases without bound"), or an extreme point of the extended real number line.
Read more about Aleph Number: Aleph-naught, Aleph-one, The Continuum Hypothesis, Aleph-ω, Aleph-α For General α, Fixed Points of Omega, Role of Axiom of Choice
Famous quotes containing the word number:
“No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition. It reduces their supporters to that tractable number which can be managed by the joint influences of fruition and hope. It offers vengeance to the discontented, and distinction to the ambitious; and employs the energies of aspiring spirits, who otherwise may prove traitors in a division or assassins in a debate.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)