Proving that 'volume' and 'surface' of hypersphere go to 0 as n -> infinity?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on proving that the volume and surface area of a hypersphere in n-dimensions approach zero as n approaches infinity. The equations for the volume and surface area are given as V_n(R) = \frac{\pi^{n/2} R^n}{\Gamma(n/2+1)} and S_n(R) = \frac{2 \pi^{n/2} R^{n-1}}{\Gamma(n/2)} respectively. The user attempts to demonstrate this limit using a hypercube comparison and Stirling's approximation for the gamma function, concluding that both the volume and surface area indeed approach zero as n increases.

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Homework Statement


I'm supposed to find the equations of a hypersphere in n-dimensions (meaning the set of points within the radius R), as well as of its surface (the set of points at exactly radius R). I've already found the equations, and now need to show that both go to zero as n goes to infinity.

Homework Equations



V_n(R) = \frac{\pi^{n/2} R^n}{\Gamma(n/2+1)}
S_n(R) = \frac{2 \pi^{n/2} R^{n-1}}{\Gamma(n/2)}

The Attempt at a Solution


I know that both go to zero just by observation, but that's not really mathematical. I was able to show that, if I put the hypersphere within a hypercube of side length A and subtract their volumes, it goes to An, implying that the difference in their volumes goes to the volume of the hypercube. But I'm not sure how solid that is -- I feel it's more of an argument for the volume going to zero rather than a proof. And it doesn't help me with the surface 'area' anyway.

EDIT: I also considered using Stirling's approximation:
\Gamma(n+1) \approx \left( \frac{n}{e} \right)^n \sqrt{2 \pi n}

Then, inputting that into the above for Vn, I get:

\lim_{n \to \infty} \frac{\pi^{n/2} e^{n} 2^{n} R^n}{n^n}

I suppose that's a decent way of showing that the limit is equal to zero?
 
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The denominators you have are gamma functions, they grow faster than exponentials, I think you can just claim that S and V go to zero, the details are probably not very interesting anyway.
 

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