You can't divide by zero... right?

[mehguy22 64]

So, you can't divide by zero, right? I found a loophole in calculators. With this you can really divide by zero. Here's how: 

 

Well, we know how exponents work, they multiply a number by itself. But, negative exponents divide a number by itself. So, here's how to divide a number by 0:

 

x^-0

 

In which x is whatever number you want. For my example I will use 20. Here it is, input and output: 

20^-0= 1

Yeah, the outcome isn't very pleasing. But at least things didn't go boom! 

 

What's your opinion on this? (And yes I know -0 doesn't exist)

[Scootalove 10,689]

Sometimes calculators don't have all of the answers. Anyway, you can't divide by zero at all unless you have a reason for it. That's about it.

[Wonderbolt_Spitfire 235]

Even if you were to argue that -0 exists it still doesn't mean you can divide by zero. All you did there on the calculator is show that any root raised to the exponent of zero (whether negative or positive) is equal to the root. When the calculator performs this operation it doesn't divide by zero anywhere.

[Proton 565]

You broke the universe without actually breaking it.

...

I'll have to try that tomorrow. Why didn't I think of this in the first place?

[VanellopeSofia 33]

well no, you cannot devide by zero, for many reasons, like you can end up with 1=2 and crazy stuff like that, I'm not a mathimation so I can't explain it very well, but these guys can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRRolKTlF6Q

Also how do you put a video in the thread?

[FizzL 27]

I think you've got something wrong with what negative exponents do, because: x^-y = 1 / (x^y)

 

So 20^-0 = 1 / (20⁰) = 1 / 1 = 1

 

 

I'd also suggest that you stop trying to break maths before somebody really gets hurt!

[the_jetfighter 94]

i always thought of it simpler, if you have 0 m&ms and you owe 3 people, you cant give any of those people any M&Ms, so their is no way it could work!

[WWAPD 126]

Just because 0 is the exponent, doesn't mean your number is getting divided by zero. It means your number is getting divided by itself once, which is why it is equal to one. And since putting a negative sign infront of a zero means nothing, you still get the same outcome. Dividing by zero has nothing to do with this.

[mehguy22 64]

Darn it! There are too many people who found the one mistake I overlooked to make my argument valid! Oh well... Time to try and break another concept. 

[FizzL 27]

i always thought of it simpler, if you have 0 m&ms and you owe 3 people, you cant give any of those people any M&Ms, so their is no way it could work!

Eh, close. That's 0 divided by 3, which is 0 - they each get no M&Ms (why is it always M&Ms?). But if you had 3 M&Ms and 0 places for them to go, that's impossible.

[Nohbdy 4,108]

This thread appears to be some manner of random (but strangely enjoyable) nonsense, or something spammy of the sort. Thus, it has been sentenced to the Forum Lounge section of Cloudsdale Colosseum. This is an automatically generated message, by the way.

[Discordian 6,015]

Not to mention that calculators are built on human knowledge and are one of the most basic of computational devices out there in the first place.

[Jack Spades 162]

I'm not the sharpest flashlight in the fridge, but I don't think -0 can exist. Show me in your hands -0 items. If you can, I'll reward you.

[GhostPony750 959]

Okay, let's say I want to divide a number by 0.5, the number is doubles, and the lower the number I take to divide the higher the number will be. So let's take the smallest number that isn't zero. It's 0.000000... (infinite amount of zero) with a "1" at the end of this. So technically, the number that divides never stop shrinking, and the number who is divided will never stop growing. So the answer to this problem is...

 

x / 0 = infinite

 

But of course, since it's not a pure zero, it doesn't work perfectly. And if I have a cookie, and I want to divide it to 0 people, it doesn't work. Same thing with 0.000...1, since there is only 1 cookie, there can't be suddenly infinite cookies (unless Pinkie or Derpy...)

 

Well, I hope this was clear, there is a filler answer until we actually find an answer.

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

Correction: You can divide by zero. The only reason it won't show up is because Calculators cannot show infinity.

[VanellopeSofia 33]

Correction: You can divide by zero. The only reason it won't show up is because Calculators cannot show infinity.

check out the link I put in my post, here it is agian

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

If you raise a number to a negative zero on a calculator it ignores the negative sign. You are really just raising it to the zero power. :/

 

Correction: You can divide by zero. The only reason it won't show up is because Calculators cannot show infinity.

 

Nope. Infinity zeros = zero

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

If you raise a number to a negative zero on a calculator it ignores the negative sign. You are really just raising it to the zero power. :/

 

 

Nope. Infinity zeros = zero

Lemmie explain in my talk:

6 divided by 3 is 2, as 3 going into 6 two times.

1 divided by 0 is infinity as you can never hit 1 by counting up in zeros

so 0 goes into every number infinite times

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

Lemmie explain in my talk:

6 divided by 3 is 2, as 3 going into 6 two times.

1 divided by 0 is infinity as you can never hit 1 by counting up in zeros

so 0 goes into every number infinite times

 

Ok. 6 divided by 3 is 2. When you take 2 threes, you get 6.

6 divided by 0 is undefined. Infinite zeros does not equal 6.

[Sunbro 4 Lyfe 939]

Ok. 6 divided by 3 is 2. When you take 2 threes, you get 6.

6 divided by 0 is undefined. Infinite zeros does not equal 6.

Yeah. Which is why it is an infinite number of zeros rather than a limited number of zeros.

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

Yeah. Which is why it is an infinite number of zeros rather than a limited number of zeros.

 

Nothing "equals" infinity. That is a contradiction of terms.

 

Take a look at the graph of 1/x. Notice what happens when x gets close to 0.

 

 

But the graph never actually touches zero. You can put in as high a number as you want for x, but you won't reach infinity. Why? Because infinity is not a number.