[Cardinality] Prove there is no bijection between two sets

mick25
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Homework Statement


prove there is no continuous bijection from the unit circle (the boundary; x^2+y^2=1) to R


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



is this possible to show by cardinality? since if two sets have different cardinality, then there is no bijection between those two sets

R has the cardinality of continuum

the unit circle is defined on [-1,1]x[-1,1] and since [a,b] has same cardinality as R for all a,b, cardinality of the unit circle would be c*c = c^2 but c^2=c, but this can't be since then there would be a bijection between the unit circle and R

?
 
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mick25 said:

Homework Statement


prove there is no continuous bijection from the unit circle (the boundary; x^2+y^2=1) to R


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



is this possible to show by cardinality? since if two sets have different cardinality, then there is no bijection between those two sets

R has the cardinality of continuum

the unit circle is defined on [-1,1]x[-1,1] and since [a,b] has same cardinality as R for all a,b, cardinality of the unit circle would be c*c = c^2 but c^2=c, but this can't be since then there would be a bijection between the unit circle and R

?

How about something easier?

Is R compact? Is the unit circle compact?

Can you have continuous map from a compact set to a non compact set?
 
fauboca said:
How about something easier?

Is R compact? Is the unit circle compact?

Can you have continuous map from a compact set to a non compact set?

nope

i just realized it after posting this thread but i don't know how to delete it now

thanks
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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