Leibniz (1646-1716) a German mathematician invented a new branch of mathematics now known as the integral calculus. For it to work, he had to introduce a concept called infinitesimal. However, Newton (1642-1727) English physicist and mathematician had already invented the differential as the denominator of a fluxion now called a derivative. The differential is equivalent to the infinitesimal. It became differential calculus. Both terms connote a logical truth that no matter how small a quantity is chosen there exists an e, that is smaller, but e is always greater than zero. On the other hand, the infinite sum of the product of a finite quantity and e approaches but is always less than infinity. These were later rigorously analyzed by Cauchy’s theory of limits (1789-1857), a French mathematician who was also a pioneer in the theory of functions of a complex variable. Both Leibniz and Newton fought for priority and for a time became intellectual enemies.
Nonetheless, calculus is the study of motion of numbers. Rational numbers describe start-and-stop motions while irrational numbers describe continuous uniform motion. Together, they describe local infinitesimal motion of spacetime as the infinite sum of squares of energy, otherwise known as the zero-point energies of the quantum vacuum.


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