AN UNATTAINABILITY CONJECTURE

It is suggested that limits to the variation of physical variables are themselves unattainable, though they can be approached as closely as desired. This general unattainability principle is illustrated in vari ous ways. It leads on to a study of how to remove infinities in physic s when they cause conceptual problems, and how to introduce infinities or zeros for those boundary points in physics which are in some sense unattainable. An analogy between temperature in thermodynamics and ti me in cosmology is pointed out for the case when boundary points are i nvolved. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.