how big is the number infinity?

Question

how big is the worlds largest number?

Answer 1

Several people have said that a Googleplex is the world's largest number. It might be the world's largest number which has its own name, but it's defnitely not the world's largest number.

Here's a number larger than a Googleplex:

one googleplex + 1

So, whatever number you give as "the largest," I can always add 1 to it and make an even larger number. There is no largest number.

Infinity gets even weirder. The numbers we learn about in math classes are called "real numbers." If you get to more advanced math, you will learn about "imaginary numbers," and "complex numbers." So, there are actually lots of types of numbers.

Well, if we want to treat infinity as a number, we need numbers called "transfinite numbers."

When you learn about transfinite numbers, you will realize that there are different "sizes" of infinity, some of which are larger than others. So, even though all "infininties" are limitless, some of these limitless numbers are larger than others. In fact, there are an infinite number of sizes of infinity! It's a really mind-bending area of math, which is actually quite a bit of fun to learn about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfinite_number

So, I guess when you ask "how big is the number infinity?" the answer would be "It depends on which infinity you are talking about."

Answer 2

Most people around here are entirely wrong.

First of all, there are plenty of numbers bigger than a googleplex, and some of them even have names.

Second, infinity just means 'not finite.' We say that a collection is 'infinite' if there is no finite number that is the proper count for the collection.

The 'finite' numbers is the smallest collection of numbers with the following property:

0 is a finite number
If n is a finite number, then n+1 is a finite number

Additionally, you might want to look up 'cardinal numbers' and 'ordinal numbers.'

[ I believe in the book "The Phantom Tollbooth," when the hero asks where he could find the biggest number in the world, the Mathemagician tells him to "follow this line forever, then turn left." That's as good a plan as any. ]

Answer 3

Well, the world's largest number that I know of is a googolplex - it's 1 followed by a googol zeroes.

It's phenomenally large - too large to wrap your mind around.

The number infinity is larger than that - in fact, you could count forever and you'd never reach infinity, because infinity basically means "number that goes on forever."

Answer 4

Words cannot describe how big it is.
If you can think of the largest number, then you can always add 1 to it and get an even larger number.

Answer 5

Infinity is a theory that what ever object has a certain value or decimal. The value is infinite never ending or un calculable. the infinity sign is like a side ways eight. But i just represent it with -1.

Answer 6

there are several different sizes of infinity
but they all are infinity. aleph null is the smallest infinity, next aleph one

infinity it is not a number.

Answer 7

infinity cannot be reached because it does not exist

however, there are different levels of infinity that can be considered.

Answer 8

Infinity isn't a number...it's a concept.

Answer 9

your question title and question content are quite different.

the world's biggest number is a googolplex. it has 100 digits.

number infinity cannot be measured.