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Same motivation as this q. Why doesn't Rationalize work for 0.? 

Interval[{0., 1.}] // Map[Rationalize, #, {2}] &

Interval[{-4.45015*10^-308,1}]

There's nothing wrong with 0. by itself:

{0., 1.} // Map[Rationalize]

{0, 1}

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  • $\begingroup$ You might want to adjust the second argument of Rationalize[] if seen fit. $\endgroup$ – J. M. will be back soon♦ Aug 5 '15 at 20:30
  • $\begingroup$ Map[Rationalize[#, 0] &, Interval[{0., 1.}], {2}] $\endgroup$ – Dr. belisarius Aug 5 '15 at 20:32
  • $\begingroup$ @belisarius, try this: Interval[{0., 1.}] // Map[Rationalize[#, 0.0000000000000001] &, #, {2}] & $\endgroup$ – alancalvitti Aug 5 '15 at 20:33
  • $\begingroup$ @Guesswhoitis., most positive values of 2nd parameters seem to work, though note above counterexample. But I want to know why this issue is Interval specific. $\endgroup$ – alancalvitti Aug 5 '15 at 20:34
  • $\begingroup$ Interesting also is Interval[{0., 1.}]/2 // Rationalize for demonstrating how bad my floating-point intuition is. $\endgroup$ – Patrick Stevens Aug 5 '15 at 20:36
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I believe this has to do with the fact that intervals "grow" just a bit on evaluation with machine numbers to ensure that values at the endpoint will be included in the interval. 

NestList[Interval @@ # &, Interval[{0., 1.}], 5] // InputForm

(*
{Interval[{-2.2250738585072014*^-308, 1.0000000000000002}], 
 Interval[{-4.450147717014403*^-308, 1.0000000000000004}], 
 Interval[{-6.675221575521604*^-308, 1.0000000000000007}], 
 Interval[{-8.900295434028806*^-308, 1.0000000000000009}], 
 Interval[{-1.1125369292536007*^-307, 1.000000000000001}], 
 Interval[{-1.3350443151043208*^-307, 1.0000000000000013}]}
*)

I'm only guessing at why it is designed this way. The docs give a pretty vague description.

"For approximate machine- or arbitrary-precision numbers x, Interval[x] yields an interval reflecting the uncertainty in x."

Edit:

Just to make it a little more interesting, this is what it appears to be doing to the endpoints.

NestList[# + {$MinMachineNumber, $MachineEpsilon} &, {0., 1.}, 5] // InputForm

(*
{{0., 1.}, 
 {2.2250738585072014*^-308, 1.0000000000000002}, 
 {4.450147717014403*^-308, 1.0000000000000004}, 
 {6.675221575521604*^-308, 1.0000000000000007}, 
 {8.900295434028806*^-308, 1.0000000000000009}, 
 {1.1125369292536007*^-307, 1.000000000000001}}
*)

I suspect that in general the step is $MachineEpsilon but zero is a special case as it often is in Mathematica.

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  • 2
    $\begingroup$ What's the transitive closure? This is a disaster waiting to happen in temporal queries or real time systems. $\endgroup$ – alancalvitti Aug 5 '15 at 21:20
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, I have been bitten by this a time or two. $\endgroup$ – Andy Ross Aug 5 '15 at 21:21

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