Real Numbers Definition

Real Numbers Definition

A real number is any element of the set R, which is the union of the set of rational numbers and the set of irrational numbers. In mathematical expressions, unknown or unspecified real numbers are usually represented by lowercase italic letters u through z. The set R gives rise to other sets such as the set of imaginary numbers and the set of complex numbers. The idea of a real number (and what makes it "real") is primarily of interest to theoreticians. Abstract mathematics has potentially far-reaching applications in communications and computer science, especially in data encryption and security.
If x and z are real numbers such that x < z, then there always exists a real number y such that x < y < z. The set of reals is "dense" in the same sense as the set of irrationals. Both sets are nondenumerable. There are more real numbers than is possible to list, even by implication. KnowMoreAboutIs0ARationalNumber

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The set R is sometimes called the continuum because it is intuitive to think of the elements of R as corresponding one-to-one with the points on a geometric line. This notion, first proposed by Georg Cantor who also noted the difference between the cardinalities (sizes) of the sets of rational and irrational numbers, is called the Continuum Hypothesis. This hypothesis can be either affirmed or denied without causing contradictions in theoretical mathematics. he real numbers can be characterized by the important mathematical property of completeness, meaning that every nonempty set that has an upper bound has a smallest such bound, a property not possessed by the rational numbers. For example, the set of all rational numbers the squares of which are less than 2 has no smallest upper bound, because 2 is not a rational number. The irrational and rational numbers are both infinitely numerous, but the infinity of irrationals is greater than the infinity of rationals, in the sense that the rationals can be paired off with a subset of the irrationals, while the reverse pairing is not possible. Properties of Real Numbers Real numbers can be ordered (this is not true, for instance, of imaginary numbers ) They can be added, subtracted , multiplied and divided by nonzero numbers in an ordered way. So what does that mean? Basically it means that comes before on the number line and that they both come before .

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We know that this fact is true for rational and irrational numbers. Think about the rational numbers 3 and 5, we know that we can order 3 and 5 as follows. 3 comes before 5 and both numbers come before 8(3+5) . A real number may be either rational or irrational; either algebraic or transcendental; and either positive, negative, or zero. Real numbers are used to measure continuous quantities. They may in theory be expressed by decimal representations that have an infinite sequence of digits to the right of the decimal point; these are often represented in the same form as 324.823122147 The ellipsis (three dots) indicate that there would still be more digits to come. More formally, real numbers have the two basic properties of being an ordered field, and having the least upper bound property. The first says that real numbers comprise a field, with addition and multiplication as well as division by nonzero numbers, which can be totally ordered on a number line in a way compatible with addition and multiplication. The second says that if a nonempty set of real numbers has an upper bound, then it has a least upper bound. The second condition distinguishes the real numbers from the rational numbers: for example, the set of rational numbers whose square is less than 2 is a set with an upper bound (e.g. 1.5) but no least upper bound: hence the rational numbers do not satisfy the least upper bound property.

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