Calculus only provides a
mechanism for
dividing by
almost zero, to the extent that
almost zero is so close to
zero that it
doesn't matter.
Dividing by
zero gives
meaningless answers, for example:
(x^2 means x
squared where x is an
arbitrary variable)
x = 1 {
initial statement}
x^2 = x {
multiply by x}
x^2 - 1 = x - 1 {
subtract 1}
(x+1)*(x-1) = x - 1 {
factorise left}
x + 1 = 1 {
divide (x-1)}
1 + 1 = 1 {because x = 1 (see line 1)}
2 = 1
This
contains a
divide by
zero because (x-1) = 0. This shows by
contradiction that
dividing by
zero is
not a
valid operation.