In mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R, often written char of R, is the smallest positive number of copies of the ring multiplicative identity that must be added together to reach the ring additive identity, zero. If no such positive number exists, the ring is said to have characteristic zero. Equivalently, the characteristic is the smallest positive integer n such that one added to itself n times equals zero in that ring, if such an n exists, and zero otherwise. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Connections
In Branch
Source Wolfram MathWorld: Characteristic
Is Kind Of Object
Sources
1. Characteristic (Algebra) (Wikipedia)
Lead sectionQuote, Lead section
In mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R {\displaystyle R} , often denoted char ( R ) {\displaystyle \operatorname {char} (R)} , is defined to be the smallest positive number of copies of the ring's multiplicative identity (1) that will sum to the additive identity (0).
Wolfram MathWorld: Characteristic
Wolfram MathWorldIn Branch: Differential Equations, Subject classificationsQuote, In Branch: Differential Equations, Subject classifications
Calculus and Analysis Differential Equations
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.