The subject of space-filling curves has fascinated mathematicians for over a century and has intrigued many generations of students of mathematics. Working in this area is like skating on the edge of reason. Unfortunately, no comprehensive treatment has ever been attempted other than the gallant effort by W. Sierpiriski in 1912. At that time, the subject was still in its infancy and the most interesting and perplexing results were still to come. Besides, Sierpiriski's paper was written in Polish and published in a journal that is not readily accessible (Sierpiriski [2]). Most of the early literature on the subject is in French, German, and Polish, providing an additional raison d'etre for a comprehensive treatment in English. While there was, understandably, some intensive research activity on this subject around the turn of the century, contributions have, nevertheless, continued up to the present and there is no end in sight, indicating that the subject is still very much alive. The recent interest in fractals has refocused interest on space­ filling curves, and the study of fractals has thrown some new light on this small but venerable part of mathematics. This monograph is neither a textbook nor an encyclopedic treatment of the subject nor a historical account, but it is a little of each. While it may lend structure to a seminar or pro-seminar, or be useful as a supplement in a course on topology or mathematical analysis, it is primarily intended for self-study by the aficionados of classical analysis.

The subject of space-filling curves has generated a great deal of interest in the 100 years since the first such curve was discovered by Peano. Cantor, Hilbert, Moore, Knopp, Lebesgue, and Polya are among the prominent mathematicians who have contributed to the field. However, there have been no comprehensive treatments of the subject since Siepinsky's in 1912. Cantor showed in 1878 that the number of points on an interval is the same as the number of points in a square (or cube, or whatever), and in 1890 Peano showed that there is indeed a continuous curve that continuously maps all points of a line onto all points of a square, though the curve exists only as a limit of very convoluted curves. This book discusses generalizations of Peano's solution and the properties that such curves must possess and discusses fractals in this context. The only prerequisite is a knowledge of advanced calculus.

"The subject of space-filling curves has generated a great deal of interest since the first such curve was discovered by Peano over a century ago. Hilbert, Lebesque, and Sierpinski were among the prominent mathematicians who made significant contributions to the field in its early stages of development." "Cantor showed in 1878 that there is a one-to-one correspondence between an interval and a square (or cube, or any finite-dimensional manifold) and Netto demonstrated that such a correspondence cannot be continuous. Dropping the requirement that the mapping be one-to-one, Peano found a continuous map from the interval onto the square (or cube) in 1890. In other words: He found a continuous curve that passes through every point of the square (or cube). This book discusses generalizations and modifications of Peano's constructions, the properties of such curves, and their relationship to fractals." "Surprisingly, there has not been a comprehensive treatment of space-filling curves since Sierpinski's in 1912, when the subject was still in its infancy. The author, who has established his credentials through a series of publications on space-filling curves, provides a rigorous and comprehensive treatment, but also reflects on the subject's historical development and the personalities involved. The only prerequisite is a solid knowledge of Advanced Calculus."--BOOK JACKET.