Originally Posted By: Bill S.
How do you define "infinitely small"?

I never used the word "infinitely", but rather "infinitesimally", which has a very specific and pertinent definition within the sciences:

infinitesimally: A non-zero quantity whose magnitude is smaller than any positive number

In quantum systems (which is what we are talking about), "infinitesimally" can be specifically defined via the uncertainty principal. Basically, at some small period of time (t) you will "see" individual quantum states. No matter how much "smaller" that period gets, you will always see the same thing (i.e. you are at the smallest non-zero value possible). In this case your box will contain "something" - i.e. non-zero value quantum states. Above that limit you will see supposition of quantum states - i.e. your box contains "nothing", as the supposition will be zero.

Bryan

Last edited by ImagingGeek; 11/05/10 01:42 PM.

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