contestada

if Sn is the nth partial sum of the harmonic series, show that e^Sn > n+1. Why does this imply that the harmonic series is divergent?

Respuesta :

[tex]S_n=\displaystyle\sum_{k=1}^n\frac1k[/tex]

You have

[tex]\ln e^{S_n}=S_n\ln e=S_n[/tex]

so showing that [tex]e^{S_n}>n+1[/tex] amounts to the same as showing that [tex]S_n>\ln(n+1)[/tex].

As [tex]n\to\infty[/tex], you have [tex]\ln(n+1)\to\infty[/tex]. By comparison, then, it follows that [tex]S_n\to\infty[/tex] at a faster rate, which means [tex]S_\infty[/tex] must diverge.