function continuous at only one point
Let us show that the function ,
is continuous at , but discontinuous for all [1].
We shall use the following characterization of continuity for : is continuous at if and only if for all sequences such that .
It is not difficult to see that is continuous at . Indeed, if is asequence converging to . Then
Suppose . Then there exists a sequence of irrational numbers converging to . For instance, if is irrational, we can take , andif is rational, we can take . For this sequence we have
On the other hand, we can also construct a sequence of rational numbers converging to . For example, if is irrational, this follows as the rational numbersare dense in , and if is rational, we can set .For this sequence we have
In conclusion is not continuous at .
References
- 1 Homepage of Thomas Vogel,http://www.math.tamu.edu/ tom.vogel/gallery/node3.htmlA function which is continuous at only one point.