It is the nature of a real thing to be inexhaustible

in content-H. WEYL

Physical Space. Abstract Spaces

Whereas the Random House Dictionary of the English Language(6) lists as

many as nineteen connotations of the word "space," for the purposes ofthis
exposition it is sufficient to consider only two, which we shall designate more
specifically by the terms "physical" and "abstract" space.
The physical space is simply the unlimited expanse of the universe, in
which all material objects are located and all phenomena occur.
An abstract or, more precisely, a mathematical space, is a conception,
the result of a mental construction. It may denote different things: an ideal
extent of any number of dimensions, a collection (set) of abstract objects
(points, vectors, numbers, functions, or sequences, for example) or a collec-
tion of real objects (inert bodies, people, animals, and so on). Of the various
examples of mathematical spaces, probably the most familiar is the
Euclidean space-the subject of high-school geometry. Two others are the
space of classical mechanics, assumed to be controlled by Newton's laws of
motion, and the four-dimensional spatiotemporal world of the theory of
relativity.
The mathematical spaces-and there are many of them-are, of course,
more or less elaborate idealizations of the physical space. In order to serve
the purposes for which they are conceived, they are described precisely, with
full logical rigor. For instance, the definition of the high-school Euclidean
space is given by a system of postulates, known as the axioms of Euclid,
satisfying three basic requirements of independence, consistency, and
completeness.
To each mathematical space one can ascribe a dimension, specified by a
number which may be infinite. Examples of one- and two-dimensional
spaces are a straight line and a plane, respectively.
We denote these particular spaces by gland g 2, respectively, and
imagine them as resting in a Euclidean space of three dimensions, g 3, the

J. L. Nowinski, Applications of Functional Analysis in Engineering

© Plenum Press, New York 1981
2 Chapter 1

AMORPHOUS SPACE

+
SPACE WITH SET - THEORETI C STRUCTURE

SPACES WITH TOPOLOGICAL STRUCTURE SPACES WITH ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURE

j
TI - spaces Linear (affine) Spaces,
I I
1)j ~
T2 - spa ces ·of Hausdorff ~ - -Normed Linear Spaces,. I
/ • f7J
T3 - spaces + Banach Spaces, W
I
T4 - spaces
. I
• trr ./ /
./ Inner Product Spaces
I ,// .
metric spaces,_ FI / Hilbert Spaces, . / (
t ___ .../// I
Euclidean Spaces, ()
l'

TOPOLOGICAL LINEAR SPACES

Figure 1.1. A family of mathematical spaces. The arrows indicate transition from a general
structure to a more special one. Space T,: each set consisting of a single point is
postulated to be closed. Space T2 : for each pair P ,. P 2 of distinct points. there exists
a pair S ,. S 2 of disjoint open sets such that P, E S ,. P 2 E S 2' Banach space: com-
plete normed linear space. Hilbert space: complete inner product space. Euclidean
space: the set of all n-tuples of real numbers equipped with the familiar distance
[D~, (Xi - .1',)2]'12. Symbols PES (P if S) mean P belongs (does not belong) to S.
Explanations of the terminology used here are given later in the text.

latter being an idealized image of the physical space, which is believed to

have three dimensions. The space 8 1 is called a subspace of 6 2 • while both
8 1 and 82 are subspaces of 8 3 .t
A detailed examination of the various classes of mathematical spaces
lies beyond the scope of this book; still, it is both interesting and informative
to cast a glance at the "genealogical" tree of the most common abstract
spaces (Figure 1.1).
Before actually doing this, it is good to recall that, from a purely math-
ematical standpoint, the term space designates, as we have noted, both a
continuous extent and a set of separate objects. These objects are called
elements, or members, of the space, and their number may be finite or infinite.
As long as the elements are not clearly defined, there is no means for decid-
ing whether a given object belongs to the space.t In a similar vein, if there

t See Comment 1.1 of this chapter. below.

~ Basically. by a set is meant a well-defined collection of objects. so that it is always possible to
decide whether an object belongs to the particular collection. Again. by a space we normally
mean a set with some kind of mathematical structure (see below).
Physical Space. Abstract Spaces 3

should be no defined operations on the elements of the space, the space has
no structure; it is amorphous, and the question of carrying out analytical
processes within the space is sterile (Figure 1.1).
The structure of a space, also called its geometric structure, has three
aspects: set-theoretic, algebraic, and topologicaI.t
As is well known, the theory of sets is concerned with the investigations
of operations on sets and such fundamental mathematical concepts as those
of function and relation. It serves as a groundwork on which rest the axio-
matic systems of algebra and topology. Concerning the notions of topo-
logy, our interest in this book involves no more than those deriving from the
idea of the closeness (distance between) the elements of a space. The alge-
braic concepts chiefly used are those of the addition of elements and the
multiplication of the latter by scalars. Many specific items related to
the geometric structure will be explained as they arise in the text. At this
point, it will suffice to briefly examine only some of them.
A first step towards the establishment of a geometric structure for an
amorphous space is the introduction of the set-theoretic axiomatics, which
form the foundation of any branch of mathematics. This leads to the
definitions of such concepts as the ordering of elements, equality, union, and
intersection of sets.!
Further development of the space structure is realized in the designa-
tion of a family of subsets as the "open sets."§ This family, required to satisfy
a certain set of axioms, defines a so-called topology of the space. Springing
from this construction are such new concepts as a neighborhood of an
element, continuity of a function, an accumulation point, convergence of a
sequence, and compactness.~ Whenever a topology is identified for a space,
that space with its topology is known as topological space. There is a hier-
archy of types of topological spaces; some types are more specialized cases
of others. A few of these types are indicated in Figure 1.1, denoted there by
the symbols Yj, where i = 1,2,3, or 4. An analysis of the definitions of, and
differences between, these ,Yi-spaces (or any of the other types) would lead

t A detailed exposition of these topics would require a separate volume. Examples of excellent
readable accounts include: Berberian,(7) Mikhlin,(8) Naylor and Sell,(9) and Sneddono o, One
of the several fairly comprehensive texts is that by Taylor.(lll Popular presentations are those
of Fletcher(12' and Hausner.(!3) The more recent Oden's book(!4, includes many interesting
exercises and examples from classical and continuum mechanics. Very useful also is Kreyszig's
book.(! 5)
t A readable review of the theory of sets is found in, e.g., Lipschutz 06 '
§ The concept of an "open" set need not be interpreted geometrically. The definition of "open-
ness" depends entirely on the kind of topology. See also the second footnote following
equation (4.5).
~ It is good to recall that the limiting process underlying most of these concepts is one of the
most essential operations of mathematical analysis.
4 Chapter 1

us too far afield; let it suffice to note here that the structure of a topological
space becomes much more fruitful if the topology is generated by a measure
of closeness, or nearness, of elemen ts, known as the distance function. A space
equipped with such a measure of distance between its elements is called a
metric space; each metric space is an example of a topological space.
A next specialization in structure consists of two simultaneous acts:
provision of the algebraic structure characteristic of the so-called linear
vector spaces, t and generalization of the familiar notion of length through
the concept of the norm (or length) of an element. A space so devised is called
a normed linear vector space or, briefly, a normed vector space. A particular
example of a normed space is a so-called Banach space, ~.
A welcome feature of normed vector spaces is the similarity of their
structure to that of Euclidean spaces. This similarity becomes even more
pronounced if the norm of each element is defined in terms of a binary
operation (i.e., one performed on pairs of elements) called an inner product,
which is formally analogous to the dot product of ordinary vectors. A space
so enriched becomes an inner product space, well-equipped for both theoreti-
cal investigations and practical applications.
Particularly useful inner product spaces are those of the class named
after the great mathematician David Hilbert. The geometric structure of a
Hilbert space, Yf', is more complete than that of the general inner product
space, and, in spite of the presence of certain features not encountered in
Euclidean spaces, is a direct progenitor of the latter. Thus, a finite-
dimensional real Hilbert space coincides with a Euclidean space of the same
dimension, except for the nature of, and the operations on, elements: in
Hilbert space, these are defined in an abstract manner, whereas in a
Euclidean space, the elements are the familiar points and vectors, with rules
of operation which are quite concrete.
As an illustration of a geometric structure, we can examine that of the
three-dimensional Euclidean space. Its set-theoretical structure is deter-
mined by specifying it as the set of all ordered triples of real numbers x = Xl'
X2, X3' where x denotes a point of the space and Xl' X2, X3 its coordinates.
The topological structure of C 3 is established by introducing the concept of
(Euclidean) distance between two points x and y: d(x, y) = [(Xl - Ylf +
(X2 - Y2)2 + (X3 - Y3)2]1/2. Finally, the algebraic structure is incorporated
by defining the addition of elements: X + Y = (x 1 + Yb X2 + Y2, X3 + YJ),
and the scalar multiplication: (Xx = ((XXb (XX 2 , (XX3)' where (X is a real number.
Believing a transition from the concrete to the abstract to be more
natural for a physically minded reader than an opposite course, we shall

t Many authors use the terms "vector space," "linear space," and "linear vector space"
interchangeably.
Physical Space. Abstract Spaces 5

begin the exposition proper with an examination of a relatively simple affine

(or linear) space. It will be the familiar Euclidean space Iff 3 stripped, however,
of metric.

Comment 1.1. In the same sense in which a line and a plane are sub-
spaces of Iff 3 of dimension one and two, respectively, the origin is a subspace
of dimension zero, Iff 0' for it includes the single zero vector. This agrees with
Definition 2.1 in Chapter 2 of a point as equivalent to the zero vector, as well
as with the convention that the zero vector, e, generates a singleton set, {e},
whose dimension is postulated as being zero. The conventional definition of
a subspace implies that any subspace must include the zero vector (see the
remarks following equation (4.1), for example). Thus, if we imagine vectors to
remain bound and emanate from the space origin, 0, then If 1 and Iff 2 repre-
sent lines and planes passing through 0, respectively. In this understanding,
the subspace Iff 0 coincides with the point 0. In our future studies, we shall
meet geometric systems which have all the features of subspaces proper, but
do not include the space origin. t

t See Chapter 9 or this book ror a discussion or "translated" subspaces.