What does it mean for an expression to be “finite but not infinitesimal”

calculusinfinitesimalsinfinitynonstandard-analysis

enter image description here

Also according to the definition of a positive infinitesimal:

a hyperreal number b is positive infinitesimal if b is positive but less than every positive real number.

So how are real numbers other than 0 able to have infinitesimals around them on the hyperreal line?

Best Answer

Well, I suppose that if $a\in\mathbb{R}$ and $\eta$ is a positive infinitesimal then the hyperreal number $a+\eta$ is bigger than $a$ but smaller than any real bigger than $a$.

Yet $a+\eta$ is neither real nor infinitesimal.

The situation is analogous to that of complex numbers: any complex number is a sum of a real number and an imaginary number, but (most) complex numbers are neither real, nor imaginary.

Related Question