Expert: Paul Klarreich - 8/13/2009

Question
proof that one upon zero is equal to infinity?

Answer
Questioner: abrar ahmed
Country: Pakistan
Category: Calculus
Private: No
Subject: math
Question: proof that one upon zero is equal to infinity?
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It isn't.  Nothing can be EQUAL to infinity because infinity is not the name of a number.

1/0 (if that is what you mean) is UNDEFINED, not infinity.  

Undefined means there is no meaning to it.  Why?

To do a division, meaning, say,  A/B, means: Find a number, which we will call X, such that BX = A".  So, for example, to do  15/3, we find the number 5, which works:  5 * 3 = 15.

To do  1/0 means find X such that  0 * X = 1.  But 0 * anything always gives 0.  So we can never find our X, and we can never do  1/0.