User:GTBacchus/sandbox

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GTBacchus (talk | contribs) at 05:41, 6 December 2005 (Boolean algebra). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fraternities in {{org-stub}}

  1. Alpha Chi Omega
  2. Alpha Delta Pi
  3. Alpha Kappa Delta Phi
  4. Alpha Omicron Pi
  5. Alpha Rho Chi
  6. Alpha Sigma Alpha
  7. Alpha Sigma Phi Philippines
  8. Alpha Tau Omega
  9. Alpha Xi Delta
  10. Beta Chi Theta
  11. Gamma Tau
  12. Delta Chi
  13. Delta Phi Epsilon
  14. Delta Upsilon
  15. Zeta Phi Beta
  16. Zeta Tau Alpha
  17. Iota Nu Delta
  18. Iota phi theta
  19. Kappa Psi
  20. Sigma Iota Rho
  21. Sigma Pi Phi
  22. Sigma Psi
  23. Phi Alpha Kappa
  24. Phi Beta
  25. Phi Mu
  26. Phi Sigma Kappa
  27. Phi Sigma Rho
  28. Phi Sigma Sigma

The many faces of C. C. Moore

Boolean algebra

In mathematics, specifically in abstract algebra, a Boolean algebra is an algebraic structure that generalizes structures arising both in set theory and in logic. The set theoretic operations of intersection, union, and complementation, and the set theoretic relation of subset inclusion follow the same algebraic rules as the logical operations of AND, OR, and NOT, and the logical relation of logical implication. A Boolean algebra is a structure on which these rules can be studied in a general context, without referring specifically to set theory or to logic. Boolean algebras are named after George Boole.

Formally, a Boolean algebra is a partially ordered set, equipped with two binary operations, and with one unary operation. The operations must follow a list of axioms, given below. In order to understand this definition, we consider the two examples already mentioned:

 
Boolean lattice of subsets
  1. For our set, we take the collection of subsets of a three-element set: {{}, {x}, {y}, {z}, {x,y}, {x,z}, {y,z}, {x,y,z}}. We order this set according to the relation of subset inclusion ([insert symbol]) (as illustrated), and define on it the binary operations of union and intersection, and the unary operation of complementation, in the usual way. This set of subsets, its ordering, and its operations, compose a Boolean algebra.
  2. Now for our set, we choose a two element set, with binary truth values for elements: {TRUE, FALSE}. Our ordering relation is logical implication ([insert symbol]), the two binary operations are AND and OR, and the unary operation is NOT. The usual rules, such as NOT TRUE = FALSE apply to these operations, and we thus have a very small two-element Boolean algebra, which is exploited in the Boolean logic studied in computer science. This simple Boolean algebra generalizes to larger ones in which truth values may take on a spectrum of values between FALSE and TRUE.

Boolean algebras are sometimes called Boolean lattices, because every Boolean algebra also meets the definition of a lattice: a partially ordered set with two binary operations obeying certain axioms. The axioms for a Boolean algebra imply the axioms for a lattice, so every Boolean algebra is a lattice. Suggestively, the symbols used for logical AND and OR, "∧", and "∨", are the same symbols used for the lattice operations of "least upper bound" (or "join" or "supremum") and "greatest lower bound" (or "meet" or "infimum").

The lattice interpretation helps in generalizing to Heyting algebras, which are Boolean algebras freed from the restriction that either a statement or its negation must be true. Heyting algebras correspond to intuitionist (constructivist) logic just as Boolean algebras correspond to classical logic.