Is the Natural Numbers Dense in Itself?

In summary, the conversation discussed different definitions of denseness, including the topological definition which states that a space A is dense in a space B if every open set containing a point in B also contains a point in A. This definition does not apply to the set of natural numbers being dense in itself. Other definitions of denseness were also mentioned, such as the measure theoretic and order-theoretic concepts. Additionally, the concept of "dense-in-itself" was brought up, which means a set contains no isolated points, but this definition depends on the superset being considered.
  • #1
Bachelier
376
0
[tex]\ Is \ \mathbb{N} \ dense \ in \ itself.[/tex]
 
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  • #2
Yes, every space is dense in itself.
 
  • #3
"A is dense in B" (with A and B topological spaces) mean "given any point p in B, every open set containing p contains some point of A." Of course, if A= B, that is trivially true.
 
  • #4
HallsofIvy said:
"A is dense in B" (with A and B topological spaces) mean "given any point p in B, every open set containing p contains some point of A." Of course, if A= B, that is trivially true.

So is there a point [itex]p\in(n,n+1)\forall n\in\mathbb{N}[/itex] such that [itex]p\in\mathbb{N}[/itex]?
 
  • #5
mjpam said:
So is there a point [itex]p\in(n,n+1)\forall n\in\mathbb{N}[/itex] such that [itex]p\in\mathbb{N}[/itex]?

No, but that doesn't matter. We're talking about denseness of N in N. Your example doesn't apply because you're confused with showing that N is dense in R!Also, for the OP, note that there are different (non-equivalent) definitions of denseness. Most often dense is applied in topological spaces, and this is what people in this thread do. But there are other definitions of denseness such that N is not dense in N. I'm just saying this because this is probably what confuses you. But you should always check what definition of denseness you are using.
 
  • #6
micromass said:
No, but that doesn't matter. We're talking about denseness of N in N. Your example doesn't apply because you're confused with showing that N is dense in R!Also, for the OP, note that there are different (non-equivalent) definitions of denseness. Most often dense is applied in topological spaces, and this is what people in this thread do. But there are other definitions of denseness such that N is not dense in N. I'm just saying this because this is probably what confuses you. But you should always check what definition of denseness you are using.

No, I just misread the original statement to say that "every open subset of A must contains a member of A". After re-reading the original statement I see how, by that definition of "dense", every set is trivially dense in itself.
 
  • #7
micromass said:
Also, for the OP, note that there are different (non-equivalent) definitions of denseness. Most often dense is applied in topological spaces, and this is what people in this thread do. But there are other definitions of denseness such that N is not dense in N. I'm just saying this because this is probably what confuses you. But you should always check what definition of denseness you are using.
What kind of 'denseness' do you have in mind here? Some measure theoretic concept?
 
  • #8
No, there are some order-theoretic notions of denseness. For example:

for every x and y, there exists a z such that x<z<y. This is sometimes called denseness. I just mention this, because the OP has talked about this in another post. I just wanted to clear up what definition of denseness we're using here...
 
  • #9
Right. So the order on N is definitely not dense.

And then there's the term dense-in-itself, meaning 'containing no isolated points' (which of course depends on the superset you're considering.)
 

1. What are the natural numbers?

The natural numbers, also known as the counting numbers, are the set of positive integers starting from 1 and continuing infinitely. They are represented by the symbol N or N0.

2. What does it mean for the natural numbers to be dense in itself?

For the natural numbers to be dense in itself means that between any two natural numbers, there exists another natural number. In other words, there are no "gaps" or missing numbers in the set of natural numbers.

3. How do we prove that the natural numbers are dense in itself?

The proof for this statement is based on the fact that the natural numbers are an infinite set. We can use a proof by contradiction, assuming that there exists a gap between two natural numbers, and then show that this assumption leads to a contradiction. This proves that there cannot be any gaps between natural numbers, thus proving that they are dense in itself.

4. Are the natural numbers dense in other number systems?

Yes, the natural numbers are dense in other number systems such as the integers, rational numbers, and real numbers. However, they are not dense in the set of complex numbers.

5. What is an example of a property that relies on the natural numbers being dense in itself?

The Archimedean property is an example of a property that relies on the natural numbers being dense in itself. It states that for any two positive real numbers, there exists a natural number such that when multiplied by the first number, the result is greater than the second number. This property relies on the fact that there are no gaps between natural numbers.

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