Infinite Divisibility - in Order Theory

In Order Theory

To say that the field of rational numbers is infinitely divisible (i.e. order theoretically dense) means that between any two rational numbers there is another rational number. By contrast, the ring of integers is not infinitely divisible.

Infinite divisibility does not imply gap-less-ness: the rationals do not enjoy the least upper bound property. That means that if one were to partition the rationals into two non-empty sets A and B where A contains all rationals less than some irrational number (π, say) and B all rationals greater than it, then A has no largest member and B has no smallest member. The field of real numbers, by contrast, is both infinitely divisible and gapless. Any linearly ordered set that is infinitely divisible and gapless, and has more than one member, is uncountably infinite. For a proof, see Cantor's first uncountability proof. Infinite divisibility alone implies infiniteness but not uncountability, as the rational numbers exemplify.

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