Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2009 / ii / Paper 4 / 3F / Solution

Let $C$ be the middle-third Cantor set and choose a positive integer $d$ with $d\log 2/\log 3\ge k$; this is possible for every real $k$, including negative $k$. Set $X=C^d\subset {\mathbb{R}}^d$. It is closed and bounded since each factor is compact. If a subset of $X$ is connected, each coordinate projection is a connected subset of $C$ and hence a singleton; therefore the subset itself is a singleton. Thus $X$ is totally disconnected.

For completeness, the dimension of these Cartesian powers of the Cantor set can be checked directly. At stage $n$ there are $2^{dn}$ cubes of side $3^{-n}$, giving vanishing $s$-dimensional cover cost whenever $s>d\log 2/\log 3$. Conversely put independent equiprobable zero-or-two ternary digits on every coordinate. Each stage-$n$ cube has probability $2^{-dn}$. If $3^{-n}\le r<3^{-n+1}$, a Euclidean ball of radius $r$ meets at most a constant depending on $d$ such cubes. Hence its probability is at most $C_d{r}^{d\log 2/\log 3}$. For any sufficiently fine cover, summing this bound over covering sets shows that its cost at exponent $d\log 2/\log 3$ is bounded below by a positive constant, since total probability is one. These upper and lower Hausdorff measure bounds proveThe construction does not claim arbitrarily large Hausdorff dimension in one fixed ambient Euclidean dimension.