What's the difference between infinitesimal and zero?

Infinitesimal


Definition:

  • (a.) Infinitely or indefinitely small; less than any assignable quantity or value; very small.
  • (n.) An infinitely small quantity; that which is less than any assignable quantity.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The first 2 ms of these transients were described by a linear model in which the fibre is regarded as a rod composed of infinitesimally small, identical segments containing a mass, one undamped elastic element and in the case of relaxed fibres two damped elastic elements in series, or in the case of activated fibres three such elastic elements in series.
  • (2) These equations can be solved easily by stepwise numerical integration involving sucessive infinitesimal rotations (SIR).
  • (3) The present day IBV might be progeny from a unique pool of primordial genome via mutation and host-induced variation, or even persistence of primordial virus as an infinitesimal portion of the population.
  • (4) Examples of current input considered are (1) an infinitesimally brief (Dirac delta function) pulse and (2) a step pulse.
  • (5) Pickup, now 71, recalls the "horrible, infinitesimal detail of how accurate you had to be, partly because you didn't want stones bouncing off the pram into the audience".
  • (6) The chances of Keeler being installed in Downing Street were infinitesimal.
  • (7) For infinitesimal steps the eigen-functions of the diffusion operator are known analytically, while for random motion of arbitrary step size they are determined by diagonalizing the transition matrix appropriate for the step model used.
  • (8) The two principal plasminogen activators (PA) and the two PA-inhibitors are present in infinitesimal concentrations in blood (pM to microM range) and in tissues.
  • (9) Experimental spectra are compared with computer simulations of spectra carried out for isotropic Brownian (limit of infinitesimal step size) and free diffusion (arbitrary step size) models.
  • (10) The infinitesimal change in entropy of a system (dS) is calculated by measuring how much heat has entered a closed system (δQ) divided by the common temperature (T) at the point where the heat transfer took place.
  • (11) However, incidence data indicate the chance of disclosing tumors, non-inflammatory cysts or other serious bone disease in the asymptomatic patient by screening jaw films is infinitesimal.
  • (12) Statistical analysis permitted empirical evaluation of creep of the cellular membrane within the range of infinitesimal stress.
  • (13) "The chances of each of us coming into existence are infinitesimally small," he argues, "and even though we shall all die some day, we should count ourselves fantastically lucky to get our decades in the sun."
  • (14) Of course, fear of risk is actually the bestselling tool of all: it is the basis of the entire insurance industry, whose profit base is predicated on the fact that fear is a very real emotion selling the product, but the statistical probability of anything actually happening, well, that is infinitesimal.
  • (15) The armed seizure of the Crimean parliament, the cynical insistence that Russian troops were not operating in Crimea when they clearly were, and the breakneck speed and flagrant violations involved in organising the Crimean referendum at short notice have been hidden behind a thread of plausible deniability stretched infinitesimally thin – and a knowing smirk on Putin's face.
  • (16) It is shown that the behavior of these waves may be explained, to a large extent, by considering the effect of the continuous stream of infinitesimal reflections that is set up whenever any wave travels in a region of vessel where the local impedance, (that is, the ratio of elastic wavespeed to tube area) is not constant.
  • (17) These changes could not be attributed to the effects of inbreeding or of selection in an infinitesimal model and suggested that some change in variance due to change in gene frequency had occurred during the course of the experiment.
  • (18) Ten healthy subjects received two treatments: a single 1 g oral dose of nalidixic acid (NA) followed 1 h later by either an infinitesimal dilution of the drug (NA 7CH) or by succussed water which served as placebo.
  • (19) The finite deformation theory describes the large strain behavior of cartilage observed in one-dimensional confined compression experiments at equilibrium, and it reduces to the linear biphasic theory under infinitesimal strain and slow strain rate conditions.
  • (20) Watson jokes that he has worked out that his Luton Town has an infinitesimally small chance of making it to the Premier League in time for matches to be aired on BT Vision before the end of the three-year deal in 2016.

Zero


Definition:

  • (n.) A cipher; nothing; naught.
  • (n.) The point from which the graduation of a scale, as of a thermometer, commences.
  • (n.) Fig.: The lowest point; the point of exhaustion; as, his patience had nearly reached zero.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The method is implemented with a digital non-causal (zero-phase shift) filter, based on the convolution with a finite impulse response, to make the computation time compatible with the use of low-cost microcomputers.
  • (2) Of great influence on the results of measurements are preparation and registration (warm-up-time, amplification, closeness of pressure-system, unhurt catheters), factors relating to equipment and methods (air-bubbles in pressure-system, damping by filters, continuous infusion of the micro-catheter, level of zero-pressure), factors which occur during intravital measurement (pressure-drop along the arteria pulmonalis, influence of normal breathing, great intrapleural pressure changes, pressure damping in the catheter by thrombosis and external disturbances) and last not least positive and negative acceleration forces, which influence the diastolic and systolic pulmonary artery pressure.
  • (3) The final model has a probability 0.08 of underlying survival time being zero and, given non-zero survival time, takes the form of an exponential distribution with mean of 14.95 months.
  • (4) Robert Francis QC's official report in February on the Mid Staffordshire care scandal, in which an estimated 400 to 1,200 patients died unnecessarily at Stafford hospital between 2005 and 2008, called for the NHS to make "zero harm" its objective.
  • (5) Proper maintenance of body orientation was defined to be achieved if the net angular displacement of the head-and-trunk segment was zero during the flight phase of the long jump.
  • (6) Electromagnetic flow probes with an inner diameter of 2, 1.5 and 1 nm were used for studies on zero-line drifting and for calibration procedures in a series of rats and rabbits.
  • (7) The open probability is weakly voltage dependent, large at zero and positive potentials (cytoplasm minus SR lumen), and decreasing at negative potentials.
  • (8) Stepwise depolarizations from the holding potential (-67 to -83 mV) to a potential which varied from -10 to +63 mV resulted in an exponential decline of h from its initial level to a final, non-zero level.
  • (9) Average increases in nonvellus hair counts between months 4 and 12 were 216, 181, and 264 in the 2% minoxidil, 3% minoxidil, and placebo-to-3% minoxidil crossover groups, respectively, all highly significant differences from zero (p = 0.0001).
  • (10) For data sampled at a high rate (approximately 200 Hz) pupil velocity deviations from zero can simply be used, giving a satisfactory inaccuracy of about 5 ms. For data sampled at a low rate (less than 50 Hz), e.g.
  • (11) In 15 patients undergoing aortofemoral bypass, partial thromboplastin time (PTT) tests before and following intravenous administration of 75 U. per kilogram of heparin at zero, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes were determined for study of control of anticoagulant adequacy.
  • (12) As an index of inhomogeneous distribution of inspired air, the mean dilution number (the ratio of the first to zero moments) was calculated from each multibreath nitrogen washout during spontaneous breathing.
  • (13) Blood pressure was measured with a random-zero sphygmomanometer every 2 weeks of this 8-week trial.
  • (14) Pairwise correlation between an affected parent and child is zero: The disease is monogenic (no major expression gene).
  • (15) Where no fluoride was taken zero dmf scores were 41-69 per cent.
  • (16) He deploys a zero-risk strategy aimed at keeping his rightwing political base behind him, while convincing the public that he alone could lead the country in times of regional turmoil.
  • (17) Furthermore, the value of the flux ratio for this substance under conditions of zero electrochemical potential across the bowel wall unequivocally demonstrates active transport.
  • (18) As a result, more and more people are beginning to look towards Irish reunification as being a real possibility.” The overriding issue, however, in this most marginal constituency in Northern Ireland is the old binary, sectarian one: the zero-sum game of orange versus green.
  • (19) A reduction of tidal volume to zero or an increase by 30% led to a corresponding change of mean carotid artery pH level.
  • (20) The incidence of probable type B viral hepatitis in patients receiving factor IX concentrate was 13.8 percent (four of 29) versus zero percent (zero of 29) in control patients (difference not significant).