Simply Connected Space

Simply Connected Space

In topology, a topological space is called simply connected (or 1-connected) if it is path-connected and every path between two points can be continuously transformed, staying within the space, into any other path while preserving the two endpoints in question (see below for an informal discussion).

If a space is not simply connected, it is convenient to measure the extent to which it fails to be simply connected; this is done by the fundamental group. Intuitively, the fundamental group measures how the holes behave on a space; if there are no holes, the fundamental group is trivial — equivalently, the space is simply connected.

Read more about Simply Connected Space:  Informal Discussion, Formal Definition and Equivalent Formulations, Examples, Properties

Famous quotes containing the words simply, connected and/or space:

    I simply contend that the middle-class ideal which demands that people be affectionate, respectable, honest and content, that they avoid excitements and cultivate serenity is the ideal that appeals to me, it is in short the ideal of affectionate family life, of honorable business methods.
    Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)

    The question of armaments, whether on land or sea, is the most immediately and intensely practical question connected with the future fortunes of nations and of mankind.
    Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)

    Art and power will go on as they have done,—will make day out of night, time out of space, and space out of time.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)