This text covers cardinal number valued functions defined for any Boolean algebra such as cellularity. It explores the behavior of these functions under algebraic operations such as products, free products, ultraproducts and their relationships to each other.

This book is based on the proceedings of the Fifth Northeast Conference on General Topology and Applications, held at The College of Staten Island – The City University of New York. It provides insight into the relationship between general topology and other areas of mathematics.

There are two aspects to the theory of Boolean algebras; the algebraic and the set-theoretical. A Boolean algebra can be considered as a special kind of algebraic ring, or as a generalization of the set-theoretical notion of a field of sets. Fundamental theorems in both of these directions are due to M. H. STONE, whose papers have opened a new era in the develop ment of this theory. This work treats the set-theoretical aspect, with little mention being made of the algebraic one. The book is composed of two chapters and an appendix. Chapter I is devoted to the study of Boolean algebras from the point of view of finite Boolean operations only; a greater part of its contents can be found in the books of BIRKHOFF [2J and HERMES [1]. Chapter II seems to be the first systematic study of Boolean algebras with infinite Boolean operations. To understand Chapters I and II it suffices only to know fundamental notions from general set theory and set-theoretical topology. No know ledge of lattice theory or of abstract algebra is presumed. Less familiar topological theorems are recalled, and only a few examples use more advanced topological means; but these may be omitted. All theorems in both chapters are given with full proofs.

This book is an informal though systematic series of lectures on Boolean algebras. It contains background chapters on topology and continuous functions and includes hundreds of exercises as well as a solutions manual.