Infinity in the regularization of Quantum Electrodynamics: A non standard Alternative

Abstract

We review the concept of infinity as applied to regularization procedures in Quantum Electrodynamics. A clear distinction that is lacking in current literature is made between the physical contents of renormalization, and the mathematical aspects of regularization. Robinson's non-standard analysis is offered as a means to settle the ambiguities of the theory, in the spirit of Paul Dirac's well known comments concerning the weak status of the mathematics used in traditional regularization schemes. As a case study we consider the Casimir effect