A fractal is an object or quantity that displays self-similarity, in a somewhat technical sense, on all scales. The object need not exhibit exactly the same structure at all scales, but the same "type" of structures must appear on all scales. A plot of the quantity on a log-log graph versus scale then gives a straight line, whose slope is said to be the fractal dimension. The prototypical example for a fractal is the length of a coastline measured with different length rulers. The shorter the ruler, the longer the length measured, a paradox known as the coastline paradox. Fractals are an interesting study; they can be found in nature and they are also an interesting art form. If you are interested in the math you can look up the Mandelbrot Set and the Julia Set to get you started. They are fun, and not to complicated (to play with, they can get much more advanced). Regardless, I have attached three links. The first link is for the above definition of a fractal with links to more explanations, the second is a fractal generator that does not require any math on your part, and the third is some very simple mathematics involved with creating fractals.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 06:48:07 +0000