by Darrin A Yarbrough

Created on: March 01, 2009   Last Updated: March 06, 2009

Division by zero is done on the Riemann sphere in the complex plane and its result tends to infinity whereas zero divided by any other number tends to one. It is also important to note that in the real number system (and on better graphing calculators), division by zero is not impossible but remains undefined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_sphere

Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician, student of Carl Friedrich Gauss, and mathematical genius developed numerous theories in mathematics such as Riemann partitions, The Generalized Riemann Hypothesis, Non-Euclidean Geometry, and extensive work in the realm of imaginary (complex) numbers, and was the mathematician Einstein selected for use in the General Theory of Relativity. Riemann's work in Non-Euclidean geometry just happens to fit exactly with what is actually experienced when taking measurements on the surface of the Earth.

That is, triangles laid upon the surface of the Earth add to 182 degrees instead of the Euclidean 180 degrees. This is due to the failure of the Euclidean fifth axiom, the Parallel Postulate. Its failure is immediately evident to anyone looking at a spherical model of planet Earth where longitude lines at the equator cross at the North Pole proving failure of the parallel postulate (parallel at the equator and crossing at the North Pole). Carl Friedrich Gauss suspected this as well as the existence of non-Euclidean geometry, and the number of primes less than a given magnitude yet did not disclose choosing to let his students discover and receive credit for the items. His most significantly accomplished student was Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann.

It is fascinating to note that real numbers generally tend to give imaginary results and imaginary numbers tend to give real results. Meaning that Euclidean results tend to give ideal answers verses real answers and non-Euclidean geometry gives answers consistent with what is really observed in our natural world. This is not to detract from Euclidean mathematics merely that a perfect triangle is merely an idealization and not typically encountered in the real world. Certainly, man can create one but trying to find one in the real world would be as challenging as trying to find a straight line. A straight line laid out on the surface of the Earth would tend to describe a geodesic. Nevertheless, this remains for another topic.

Since the consequences of Riemann's interpretation of non-Euclidean geometry tend to reflect what is

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