Finite
In
mathematics, a
set is called
finite if there exists no
bijection between the set and any of its proper subsets. Equivalently, a set is finite if its
cardinality, i.e. the number of its elements, is a
natural number. For instance, the set of
integers between -15 and 3 is finite, since it has 17 elements. The set of all
prime numbers is not finite. Sets that are not finite are called
infinite.
In physics, the term finite is in addition used in the meaning of "non-zero", for instance in a sentence like "if the distance of the two objects is finite...".
See also: infinity, countable set