Maths · Cauchy’s limit

How did Cauchy put calculus on solid ground?

Name: How did Cauchy put calculus on solid ground?
Uploaded: 2026-10-25
Duration: 22 s
Description: For a century, calculus ran on infinitely small quantities nobody could define. In 1821, Augustin Cauchy gave it firm ground: the limit. A sequence has a limit if, however thin a band you draw around it, from some point on every term stays inside. Draw a thinner band, and the terms still fit, just further along.

What you’ll see

For a century, calculus ran on infinitely small quantities nobody could define. In 1821, Augustin Cauchy gave it firm ground: the limit. A sequence has a limit if, however thin a band you draw around it, from some point on every term stays inside. Draw a thinner band, and the terms still fit, just further along.