Question about natural numbers.

In summary, every natural number has a finite number of digits and the entire set is unbounded. As the natural numbers get larger, so do the number of digits. This can be proven by showing that the number of digits in a natural number approaches infinity as the number itself approaches infinity. Additionally, the idea of having natural numbers with an \aleph_0 number of digits leads to a contradiction as it would result in an uncountable set, which is not possible for the set of natural numbers. This cannot be used as a proof by contradiction to verify the concept.
  • #1
cragar
2,552
3
Are there an [itex] \aleph_0 [/itex] # of natural numbers with an
[itex] \aleph_0 [/itex] # of digits?
 
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  • #2
Every natural number has a finite number of digits.
 
  • #3
Adding to the above (which is correct), the set of infinite digit strings is uncountable.
 
  • #4
ok I understand what you guys are saying but it still seems strange to me.
I feel like that is saying the natural numbers are not bounded but they have a finite number of digits. I mean you couldn't put a bound on the number of digits.
 
  • #5
cragar said:
ok I understand what you guys are saying but it still seems strange to me.
I feel like that is saying the natural numbers are not bounded but they have a finite number of digits. I mean you couldn't put a bound on the number of digits.

Each individual natural number has a finite number of digits.
The entire set is unbounded.
 
  • #6
I mean you couldn't put a bound on the number of digits.

You can't. This doesn't change the fact that every natural number has a finite number of digits.
 
  • #7
For any natural number you pick, I can pick one with more digits. For example, if you picked x I could pick 10x, or 100,000,000,000,000,000x.

However all three of those numbers have a finite number of digits.

As the natural numbers get larger and larger so do the number of digits.

Say you have f(x) = # of digits x has for all natural numbers.

Then it is certainly true that as x approaches infinity, so does f(x).
 
  • #8
To make the above a bit more rigorous, the number of digits in a natural number [itex]n[/itex] is given by [itex]\lfloor \log_{10}(n) \rfloor[/itex] and this obviously goes to infinity.
 
  • #9
I could see the problem with saying that there are natural numbers with an
[itex] \aleph_0 [/itex] of digits because then I would have 10 choices for each number in the slot and I would have [itex] 10^{\aleph_0} [/itex] numbers which would be uncountable and a contradiction because the set of naturals is countable. Could I use this as a proof by contradiction to verify it?
 
  • #10
cragar said:
Could I use this as a proof by contradiction to verify it?

No. The contradiction does not verify that every natural number has a base 10 representation with only finitely many digits.
 
  • #11
cragar said:
I could see the problem with saying that there are natural numbers with an
[itex] \aleph_0 [/itex] of digits because then I would have 10 choices for each number in the slot and I would have [itex] 10^{\aleph_0} [/itex] numbers which would be uncountable and a contradiction because the set of naturals is countable. Could I use this as a proof by contradiction to verify it?

If I understood you correctly, you want to compose all strings of finite length

with terms in {0,1,..,9} . If you write those strings as

Ʃi=0Nai10i

and let N→∞ , then(a) problem is that your sum will diverge much of the time, so that

many of those strings are not natural numbers.
 
  • #12
ya that's what i am kinda saying
 

FAQ: Question about natural numbers.

What are natural numbers?

Natural numbers are a set of positive integers that are used for counting and ordering objects. They start at 1 and continue on infinitely, with no decimal places or fractions.

How are natural numbers different from whole numbers?

Natural numbers are a subset of whole numbers, meaning they are a smaller group within the larger set. Whole numbers also include 0, while natural numbers start at 1.

Can natural numbers be negative?

No, by definition, natural numbers are positive integers. Negative numbers are not considered natural numbers.

What is the largest natural number?

There is no largest natural number, as they continue on infinitely. However, the largest natural number that is commonly used in mathematics is 1080 (10 to the power of 80).

How are natural numbers used in science?

Natural numbers are used in science to quantify and measure various phenomena. They are also used in mathematical equations and models to represent real-world situations and make predictions.

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