• Abnorc@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      30
      ·
      6 months ago

      Almost. 1/x approaches infinity from the positive direction, but it approaches negative infinity from the negative direction. Since they approach different values, you can’t even say the limit of 1/x is infinity. It’s just undefined.

      • affiliate@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        12
        ·
        6 months ago

        it is possible to rigorously say that 1/0 = ∞. this is commonly occurs in complex analysis when you look at things as being defined on the Riemann sphere instead of the complex plane. thinking of things as taking place on a sphere also helps to avoid the “positive”/“negative” problem: as |x| shrinks, 1 / |x| increases, so you eventually reach the top of the sphere, which is the point at infinity.

      • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        6 months ago

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_by_zero#Floating-point_arithmetic

        In IEEE arithmetic, division of 0/0 or ∞/∞ results in NaN, but otherwise division always produces a well-defined result. Dividing any non-zero number by positive zero (+0) results in an infinity of the same sign as the dividend. Dividing any non-zero number by negative zero (−0) results in an infinity of the opposite sign as the dividend. This definition preserves the sign of the result in case of arithmetic underflow.

    • DannyBoy
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      6 months ago

      It’s an error, since no amounts of zeros, even infinite, would make it equal 10.

      • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        6 months ago

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_by_zero#Floating-point_arithmetic

        In IEEE arithmetic, division of 0/0 or ∞/∞ results in NaN, but otherwise division always produces a well-defined result. Dividing any non-zero number by positive zero (+0) results in an infinity of the same sign as the dividend. Dividing any non-zero number by negative zero (−0) results in an infinity of the opposite sign as the dividend. This definition preserves the sign of the result in case of arithmetic underflow.