Dividing By Zero
Unlike most mathematical models of the intuitive concept of 'number', this structure allows division by zero:
for nonzero a. This structure, however, is not a field, and division does not retain its original algebraic meaning in it. The geometric interpretation is this: a vertical line has infinite slope.
Read more about this topic: Real Projective Line
Famous quotes containing the word dividing:
“If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel cold in the extremities; if we are alive, let us go about our business.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)