Finite fieldIn mathematics, a finite field or Galois field (so-named in honor of Évariste Galois) is a field that contains a finite number of elements. As with any field, a finite field is a set on which the operations of multiplication, addition, subtraction and division are defined and satisfy certain basic rules. The most common examples of finite fields are given by the integers mod p when p is a prime number. The order of a finite field is its number of elements, which is either a prime number or a prime power.
Entropy (statistical thermodynamics)The concept entropy was first developed by German physicist Rudolf Clausius in the mid-nineteenth century as a thermodynamic property that predicts that certain spontaneous processes are irreversible or impossible. In statistical mechanics, entropy is formulated as a statistical property using probability theory. The statistical entropy perspective was introduced in 1870 by Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann, who established a new field of physics that provided the descriptive linkage between the macroscopic observation of nature and the microscopic view based on the rigorous treatment of large ensembles of microstates that constitute thermodynamic systems.
Cantor's first set theory articleCantor's first set theory article contains Georg Cantor's first theorems of transfinite set theory, which studies infinite sets and their properties. One of these theorems is his "revolutionary discovery" that the set of all real numbers is uncountably, rather than countably, infinite. This theorem is proved using Cantor's first uncountability proof, which differs from the more familiar proof using his diagonal argument.
Cardinality of the continuumIn set theory, the cardinality of the continuum is the cardinality or "size" of the set of real numbers , sometimes called the continuum. It is an infinite cardinal number and is denoted by (lowercase Fraktur "c") or . The real numbers are more numerous than the natural numbers . Moreover, has the same number of elements as the power set of Symbolically, if the cardinality of is denoted as , the cardinality of the continuum is This was proven by Georg Cantor in his uncountability proof of 1874, part of his groundbreaking study of different infinities.
