Frequently Asked Questions about Fractals


Table of Contents

  1. What is a fractal?
  2. Where are fractals used?
  3. What are fractals for?
  4. Who is Banoit B. Mandelbrot?

What is a fractal?

Fractal, short for fractional dimension, is a geometric pattern that repeats itself at every smaller scale to produce patterns. It cannot be represented by classical geometry. Fractals are used especially in computer modeling of irregular patterns and structures in nature.

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Where are fractals used?

Fractals are used especially in computer modeling of irregular patterns and structures in nature.

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What are fractals for?

Fractal mountains touching fractal clouds... fractal trees glimmering in the fractal light of the fractal moon... and fractal snowflakes fractally falling onto the fractal ground.

Fractals are used for have both scientific and practical applications. In theoretical physics they are closely associated with chaos and prechaotic conditions. Chaos is the irregular unpredictable behavior of a dynamic system. Fractals are studied in practically every science. The mystic nature of fractals makes us think that they can be used for many other still unknown purposes. Barnsley successfully applied them to image compression.

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Who is Benoit B. Mandelbrot?

Benoit B. Mandelbrot is French mathematician who developed fractal geometry as a separate field of mathematics. He was often called The Father of Fractals.

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Web page created by James Sun.
Last Updated: March 12, 1998.