# Hausdorff measure

In mathematics, Hausdorff measure is a generalization of the traditional notions of area and volume to non-integer dimensions, specifically fractals and their Hausdorff dimensions. It is a type of outer measure, named for Felix Hausdorff, that assigns a number in [0,∞] to each set in ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{n}}$ or, more generally, in any metric space.

The zero-dimensional Hausdorff measure is the number of points in the set (if the set is finite) or ∞ if the set is infinite. Likewise, the one-dimensional Hausdorff measure of a simple curve in ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{n}}$ is equal to the length of the curve, and the two-dimensional Hausdorff measure of a Lebesgue-measurable subset of ${\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{2}}$ is proportional to the area of the set. Thus, the concept of the Hausdorff measure generalizes the Lebesgue measure and its notions of counting, length, and area. It also generalizes volume. In fact, there are d-dimensional Hausdorff measures for any d  0, which is not necessarily an integer. These measures are fundamental in geometric measure theory. They appear naturally in harmonic analysis or potential theory.