Power Set
A power set is the set of all subsets.
Contents
Description
Consider a set A = {x,y,z}. There exist 8 unique subsets of A, including the empty set and A itself.
{ } a.k.a. Ø
{x}
{y}
{z}
{x y}
{x z}
{y z}
{x y z}
The set of these subsets is called the power set of A. This is notated either as 𝒫(A) (note the calligraphic P), as 2A, or as {B | B ⊆ A}.
It can be proven that if |A| = n, then |𝒫(A)| = 2n. (The second notation above emphasizes this fact.) Furthermore Cantor's theorem proves that |A| < |𝒫(A)| for any set A.