The concept of infinity has intrigued mathematicians since the days of Archimedes. The idea of infinitely small and infinitely large boggles the mind. However, it has proved a useful concept in the development of modern mathematics, particularly integral calculus; without which we could not land a space probe on Mars with pinpoint accuracy. One rule in mathematics is that one must not divide by zero, for doing so results in an indeterminate value. However, there are situations where this is unavoidable, and when this happens, we use the word 'infinity' to describe the indeterminate answer. As an example, the Foucault pendulum always swings in the same direction in space regardless of the earth's rotation. Therefore, at the North Pole the swing rotates 360 degrees in twenty four hours as the earth turns beneath it. As one travels toward the equator, the time of rotation increases depending on the latitude, until at the equator the time becomes infinitely long. This is because the time of rotation is determined by dividing twenty four by the sine of the degrees of latitude. The sine of ninety degrees (at the pole) is one, and the result of dividing twenty four by one is twenty four hours. The latitude of New Orleans is thirty degrees, and the sine of thirty degrees is 0.5. So the time of rotation in New Orleans is forty eight hours. The sine of zero degrees (at the equator) is zero, and the result of dividing twenty four by zero is infinity; in other words, there is no rotation of the pendulum's swing.
A straight line is defined in geometry as extending infinitely far in both directions. If a line is divided into two parts, each part extends infinitely far in one direction. These two infinitely long rays are just as long as the original line since one-half of infinity is still infinity. We have words such as terraflops and parsecs to describe very small and very large quantities, but no matter what numbers we pick, there is always a next number. That is the nature of infinity; you never reach the end.
The Bible uses the word eternal to express the idea of infinity. God is described as our Eternal Father; we are told about eternal fire, eternal salvation, and eternal damnation. It is just as difficult for us to visualize eternity in time as it is to imagine infinity in numbers. Only God and heavenly beings understand what this means because they are experiencing it. We are told that "the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23), and so some day, if we are faithful, we shall also experience it. I don't know what I will be doing with all that time, but I am sure there is not going to be a dull moment. There will be so many marvelous activities in which to engage, so many worlds to explore (I always wanted to go on a safari), so many interesting people to talk to, and so many questions to ask and mysteries to solve that I am looking forward to finding out what it means to live for "infinity and beyond."
