infinitesimálisnak

Infinitesimálisnak is a term used in mathematics to denote something infinitesimally small. It refers to a quantity that is arbitrarily close to zero but not equal to zero. This concept is fundamental to calculus and the study of limits.

The idea of infinitesimals has a long history in mathematics, dating back to the work of Archimedes. However, it was rigorously developed by mathematicians like Newton and Leibniz with the invention of calculus. In early calculus, infinitesimals were often treated as quantities that could be manipulated algebraically, though their exact nature was not always clear.

Modern mathematics typically defines infinitesimals through the concept of limits. A function is said to approach a limit as its input approaches a certain value if the function's output can be made arbitrarily close to that limit by making the input sufficiently close to the given value. This formalizes the notion of approaching zero without necessarily reaching it.

While the direct use of infinitesimals as a separate class of numbers has been largely superseded by the epsilon-delta definition of limits, the intuition behind them remains powerful. Non-standard analysis, developed by Abraham Robinson, provides a rigorous framework for working with true infinitesimals, allowing for a different approach to calculus and other areas of mathematics. In this system, infinitesimals are actual numbers, smaller than any positive real number but larger than zero. The concept of "infinitesimálisnak" continues to be a cornerstone for understanding continuous change and the behavior of functions.