my online American Heritage Dictionary says:
in·fin·i·ty (¹n-f¹n"¹-t¶) n., pl. in·fin·i·ties. Abbr. inf. 1. The quality
or condition of being infinite. 2. Unbounded space, time, or quantity. 3. An
indefinitely large number or amount. 4. Mathematics. The limit that a
function f is said to approach at x = a when for x close to a, f(x) is
larger than any preassigned number. 5.a. A range in relation to an optical
system, such as a camera lens, representing distances great enough that
light rays reflected from objects within the range may be regarded as
parallel. b. A distance setting, as on a camera, beyond which the entire
field is in focus.
All definitions seem to have a basis in number and would imply that 0 is the
opposite <and for definition 4 inverse> of infinity ...
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From: Paul Prestopnik[SMTP:pjp66259@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu]
Sent: Friday, March 27, 1998 2:25 PM
To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: virus: Infinity
Eric, you proposed numbers as an answer to Sodom's question of a
"real-world" example of
infinity.
I think he wanted a non-mathematical idealization. Numbers are
still a mathematical
construct. You can't find a "3 tenths" "square root of 2" or even a
"five."
Sodom, what happened to your brother?
-Paul Prestopnik