Discover
/
Article

Georg Cantor

MAR 03, 2016

DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.031166

Physics Today

On this day in 1845, mathematician Georg Cantor was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the 1870s and 1880s he founded set theory, which mathematicians use today to analyze the properties of collections of numbers or objects. Considering sets of numbers allowed Cantor to clarify the mind-boggling concept of infinity. He showed that infinity is not just some blanket term for unimaginably huge—you could create infinite sets of different sizes.

Date in History: 3 March 1845

Related content
/
Article
/
Article
/
Article
/
Article
/
Article
Despite the tumultuous history of the near-Earth object’s parent body, water may have been preserved in the asteroid for about a billion years.

Get PT in your inbox

Physics Today - The Week in Physics

The Week in Physics" is likely a reference to the regular updates or summaries of new physics research, such as those found in publications like Physics Today from AIP Publishing or on news aggregators like Phys.org.

Physics Today - Table of Contents
Physics Today - Whitepapers & Webinars
By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.