Infinity symbol Infinity symbol The infinity symbol (sometimes called the lemniscate) is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. The shape of a sideways figure eight has a long pedigree; for instance, it appears in the cross of Saint Boniface, wrapped around the bars of a Latin cross. However, John Wallis is credited with introducing the infinity symbol with its mathematical meaning in 1655, in his "De sectionibus conicis". Wallis did not explain his choice of this symbol, but it has been conjectured to be a variant form of a Roman numeral for 1,000 (originally CIƆ, also CƆ), which was sometimes
Infinity symbol notation for summations and limits such as the infinity sign is conventionally interpreted as meaning that the variable grows arbitrarily large (towards infinity) rather than actually taking an infinite value. The infinity symbol may also be used to represent a point at infinity, especially when there is only one such point under consideration. This usage includes, for instance, the infinite point of a projective line, and the point added to a topological space formula_2 to form its one-point compactification formula_3. In areas other than mathematics, the infinity symbol may take on other related meanings; for instance, it has been used