Difference between revisions of "Banach-Tarski Paradox"
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| − | The '''Banach-Tarski paradox''' uses the [[Axiom of Choice]] to take a [[sphere]], split it into finitely many pieces, and reassemble them into two new spheres. The new spheres both have the same volume as the original, suggesting paradoxically that you can create two identical copies out of one, despite our physical intuition that this is impossible. This paradox | + | The '''Banach-Tarski paradox''' uses the [[Axiom of Choice]] to take a [[sphere]], split it into finitely many pieces, and reassemble them into two new spheres. The new spheres both have the same volume as the original, suggesting paradoxically that you can create two identical copies out of one, despite our physical intuition that this is impossible. This paradox has been mathematically proven to be consistent with [[Zermelo-Fraenkel]] set theory. |
Note that, since the pieces must be non-measurable, this cannot be done with an actual object. | Note that, since the pieces must be non-measurable, this cannot be done with an actual object. | ||
Revision as of 02:02, February 9, 2009
The Banach-Tarski paradox uses the Axiom of Choice to take a sphere, split it into finitely many pieces, and reassemble them into two new spheres. The new spheres both have the same volume as the original, suggesting paradoxically that you can create two identical copies out of one, despite our physical intuition that this is impossible. This paradox has been mathematically proven to be consistent with Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory.
Note that, since the pieces must be non-measurable, this cannot be done with an actual object.
External Links
- Banach-Tarski Paradox at MathWorld
