Chapters
9 items-
To Infinity and Beyond: Introduction
What is the biggest number? Is the universe infinite? Steven Berkoff asks these questions, and more.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: What is the Biggest Number?
One of the larger numbers used, the googolplex, is so big that there isn’t enough space in the universe to write it down. Another number, Graham’s number, was discovered by a former circus performer.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: What is Infinity?
One mathematician, David Hilbert, tried to explain infinity by imagining if there would be a room available for him at a hotel with an infinite amount of rooms.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: The Illusion of Infinity
Some mathematicians do not believe in infinity, but this leaves them questioning where the numbers actually end.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: Cantor’s Diagonal Argument
Georg Cantor made the theory of infinity something that could be used in equations; however, this discovery uncovered that some infinities are bigger than others.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: Is the Universe Infinite?
The theory that a monkey could type the complete works of Shakespeare given an infinite amount of time is explored by one professor, using a laptop and a specialised computer program.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: Multiple Universes
Infinity means there could be an infinite number of the same person in the universe; one professor calculates how far you would have to travel to meet one of these other people.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: Cosmological Inflation
Cosmological Inflation proposes that the early universe expanded at a very rapid rate; however, this theory also proves that our universe may not be the only one.
-
To Infinity and Beyond: Conclusions
Infinity is older than time, bigger than the universe and stranger than fiction. It is also a topic that probably won’t be fully understood in a finite period of time.
Credits
- Presenter
- Steven Berkoff
- Director
- Stephen Cooter
- Producer
- Andrew Cohen
