Uncountable number of mutually disjoint countable sets in $\mathbb R$

real-analysis

Does there exist countable/uncountable number of mutually disjoint subsets of $\mathbb R$, each of which is countable and dense in $\mathbb R$?

For finite number, I am able to choose irrationals say, $r_n=\sqrt2-\frac1n$, and get the finite number of mutually disjoint sets as the rationals in $s_1=(-\infty,r_1),s_2=(r_1,r_2),\dots$ But how is such a thing possible for countable/uncountable irrationals because they can not be arranged in increasing order? Is there any other way of doing this? Is the answer to this question in the affirmative? Please help.

Best Answer

There is an uncountable set of countable dense sets. Define an equivalence relation on the reals as $x\sim y \iff x-y \in \Bbb Q.\ \ $ Each equivalence class is countable, so there is an uncountable number of them. They are disjoint and dense.

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