FRACTAL

GEOMETRY
GROUP 3
BSED-MATHEMATICS 2A
Lesson Outline
Introduction
History
Contributors
Application
Learning Outcomes
Discover how fractal geometry came into
existence.
Differentiate fractal geometry from other
kinds of geometry.
Identify the key contributors to the
development of fractal geometry.
HISTORY OF
FRACTALS
• • •
•••
 FRACTAL
A form of an infinitely
complicated mathematical
shape.
In general, a Fractal is a pattern
that repeats continuously, and
every section of the fractal, no
matter how zoomed in or out,
appears to be identical to the
original shape.
Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia discovered fractals while studying complex
mathematical systems at the turn of the 20th century. Considered
mathematical monsters with unlimited complexity, fractals resisted linear
analysis. Fractals were forgotten until Benoit Mandelbrot published his work
in the 1960s.

Mandelbrot coined the term “fractal” while working at IBM’s Armonk, New
York labs. He solidified hundreds of years of thought and mathematical
growth and illustrated his formal meaning with spectacular computer-
constructed images. These visuals, such as his iconic Mandelbrot set,
captivated the public imagination; many were based on recursion, giving rise
to the popular interpretation of the term “fractal.”
Who Invented
Fractals?
• • •
•••
 Early Days of Invention
The earliest point on the fractal timeline starts in the
17th century. One of the most famous mathematicians
and philosophers of the time Gottfried Leibniz
contemplated recursive self-similarity.

He used the term ‘fractional exponents’ to refer to the

scaling properties.

The historical record also says he believed that just a

straight line was also self-similar, but in our modern
understanding, we do not consider that a fractal.
 First Definition of Fractal
A student who later become a
mathematician, had attended Weierstrass’
lectures.
He studied subsets of the real line that we
now call Cantor sets. These lines are self-
similar and follow the pattern by removing
sections. We consider the Cantor set to be a
fractal pattern today.
Georg Cantor
 Self-Inverse Fractals
In the late 1800s, Henri Poincaré and Felix Klein discovered what we
now call “self-inverse” fractals.
In 1904, Helge von Koch disliked
Weierstrass’ definition that fractals were
continuous but not differentiable. He
began with Poincaré’s ideas and instead
suggested a definition from geometry.
He created hand-drawn images of an
identical repeating pattern that we now
know as the Koch snowflake.
 Self-Inverse Fractals
In 1915, Waclaw Sierpinski created
what we call the Sierpinski Triangle
today.
Each set of triangles is repeated in a
pattern. When the triangles are
repeated at a new size, it is called an
iteration. An iteration is repeating an
identical operation. This technique
of iteration will be used in the
drawing instructions of all fractal
patterns. This can be repeated until
it is as small as medium allows.
A few years later the field of fractals started to take a more
solid theoretical shape. Two French mathematicians,
Gaston Julia and Pierre Fatou started to relate their
studies of dynamics, attractors, repellors, and the complex
number plane. Today we call this field Chaos Theory.
These two arrived at essentially identical results using
iterative functions and complex numbers.
A few years later the field of fractals started to take a more solid
theoretical shape. Two French mathematicians, Gaston Julia and
Pierre Fatou started to relate their studies of dynamics, attractors,
repellors, and the complex number plane. Today we call this field
Chaos Theory. These two arrived at essentially identical results using
iterative functions and complex numbers.

An unstable Julia Set as disconnected ‘Fatou Dust’

 Evolution of the Definition of Fractals
Felix Hausdorff made another important contribution to the field of
fractals. One important characteristic is there is a measurement of the
dimension which we call the Hausdorff dimension. Fractals can have
non-integer dimension like 2.5 or 3.1 instead of 2-D or 3-D.

Paul Lévy made important contributions to stochastic processes,

random walks, and probability. Related to this study, he expanded on
self-similar curves we now call the Lévy C curve.

One unfortunate fact of the fractal investigations so far is that they were
limited by the technologies of their time. Some fractals like Cantor’s and
Sierpinski’s fractals can be created with drawings, however, some fractal
studies require the aid of computer graphics.
 Benoit B. Mandelbrot: Father of Fractals
Mandelbrot, a Polish-born mathematician had Paul
Levy as an academic advisor. Mandelbrot invented the
term fractal and named it from the Latin word fractus,
which means “broken” or “fragmented.”

Mandelbrot originally used printers to create the

graphics that he required to study the fractal
dynamics of attractors. Later, he would use computer
screens as the technology caught up with his ideas.

Mandelbrot used fractal ideas to advance the study of

physical objects, probability, stock market behavior,
and dynamics.
What are Fractals
used for?
• • •
•••
Fractals In Geometry

Fractal geometry and the ability to measure the Hausdorff

dimension of collected data may be used to comprehend the
complexity of systems and shapes.
Fractal geometry can describe unpredictable phenomena in
various ways.
These types of distributions are called Power Laws and were a
favorite subject of study for Levy. These include earthquake
timing and size, variations in a person’s heartbeat, and the
occurrences of diseases and death.
Fractals In Art

Fractals can also be used in arts. The image formed by a fractal is

intricate yet striking, and it has long piqued artists’ interest.
Studies have shown artists such as Jackson Pollock and Max
Ernst produce seemingly chaotic yet defined structures.
Their artwork has been shown to
have a measurable Hausdorff
dimension.

Jackson Pollock’s Number 5

Fractals In Biology

Furthermore, fractals have a significant role in

biological research. Sometimes, natural systems
can follow fractal shapes.
For example, blood vessels have a self-similar
structure. The ability to measure their fractal
shape allows our scientists and doctors to create
better treatments for patients.
Fractals can also model other networks like
neurons and the nervous systems of various
Neurons showing a fractal
animals. Bacterial growth can also follow a self- shape.
similar scaling and so exhibits fractal patterns.
Fractals In Imaging

One of the most common applications of fractals is image

compression. The pixel data in an image can be expressed as
an iterated system of functions. This allows for the storage of
the image to be recorded as a much smaller number of
parameters. This image still appears fast and renders itself in
great detail at any magnification (due to the scaling property
of fractals)
There is nothing more to this than a simple iterative formula. It is so
simple that most children can program their home computers to produce
the Mandelbrot set. … Its astounding complication was completely out of
proportion with what I was expecting. Here is the curious thing: the first
night I saw the set, it was just wild. The second night, I became used to
it. After a few nights, I became familiar with it. It was as if somehow I
had seen it before. Of course I hadn’t. No one had seen it. No one had
described it. The fact that a certain aspect of its mathematical nature
remains mysterious, despite hundreds of brilliant people working on it, is
the icing on the cake to me.
-Benoit Mandelbrot
Types Of Fractals In
Nature
• • •
•••
Even when doing an ordinary activity like strolling in a park or forest,
fractal patterns are seen in many places in nature. The branching
behavior that gives plants a self-similar shape also gives fractal
repetition to trees, roots, leaves, ferns, and the fungal mycelium.

Geography also frequently displays fractal shapes. This was the key
connection made by Carpenter in his landscape generation
software. Fractals can also be found in the patterns of streams,
rivers, coasts, mountains, waves, waterfalls, and water droplets in the
natural world.
Fractals In Leaves and Plants

Just like the circulatory systems of animals, the self-

similar patterns allow plants to distribute nutrients
efficiently. The liquid water and electrolytes
absorbed through the root structure flow through
the plant and rehydrate the cytoplasm of each cell.

A form of broccoli known as Romanesco broccoli is

one of the most notable examples. This form of
broccoli has a fantastic structure of spires that Romanesco broccoli showing
radiate from a single point and branch out into their a fractal pattern
spires that extend to the plant’s tip.
Growth Spirals

Growth spirals, which follow the Fibonacci Sequence (also known as

the Golden Spiral) and can be considered as a special case of self-
similarity, also contain fractal patterns. The fractal pattern that is
known as the Dragon Curve also relates to the Fibonacci Sequence
since its Hausdorff dimension is the number φ (1.61803)
Fractal Electricity and Lightning

As the charge travels through the air, it is

resisted. This resistance causes the current
to fragment and split. The air becomes
superheated when the current travels
through it and the air glows brightly.
This process is repeated for each level of
fragmentation until a fractal pattern
emerges. When you reverse an image of a
Lightning showing a
lightning strike or electrical discharge, you’ll
fractal pattern
find that it looks a lot like a tree. This is
because they are both fractals.
Fractals in Human and Animal Bodies

Another common location where fractal

patterns exist is the human respiratory system.
The airway pattern begins with a single trunk
(the throat, similar to a tree) that branches off
in a self-similar pattern.
Each smaller network of cavities has its trunk
which branches into a smaller and smaller
network. This allows air to efficiently travel to
where it is needed and swapped for carbon Fractal vessel structure
dioxide in the blood. in the heart.
Fractals in Geography, Rivers, and
Terrain

Rivers, like trees and plants, frequently

fall into the Fractal category. When
you consider how the terrain is
produced and weathered, water
erosion accounts for a significant
portion of the landscape. Just like the
lightning pattern, the water meets
resistance and the river fractures into
different similar parts.
A river delta showing a fractal
pattern.
Fractals and Technology

Modern cell phones use a fractal antenna shape to work at multiple

frequencies at the same time. Different forms correlate to the
various radio bands that carry cell phone signals within the
antenna.
Since these shapes are stacked within one another, multiple
different frequencies can be used simultaneously in a cell phone.
According to research, fractal antennas outperform standard-
shaped antennas, such as the old-fashioned whip antenna that
used to be mounted on cars.
 MOST WELL-
KNOWN FRACTALS
• • •
•••
The Mandelbrot Set

The Mandelbrot set, created by Benoit Mandelbrot, is the most well-known

fractal in advanced mathematics, owing to its mesmerizing beauty. Since
1980, the set has served as a source of inspiration for artists, awe for kids,
and a productive testing ground for the science of chaotic dynamics.

The set is a mathematical creation consisting of a seemingly oddly

formed infinite collection of points concentrated on the complex number
plane. In 1978, Robert W. Brooks and Peter Matelski defined and drew this
set as part of a study of Kleinian groups. After that, in 1980, while working
at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New
York, Benoit Mandelbrot created high-quality visualizations of the set.
The Mandelbrot Set

Mandelbrot originally used his printer to render

the images. As he investigated the relationship
with Julia Sets, Mandelbrot first believed the
printer to be rendering errors! We now know
these sets as ‘Fatou Dust’.
Outside of the halls of academic departments,
the Mandelbrot set is well known for its
beautiful and unique visualizations. It is an
example of taking a recursive function like the
simple Mandelbrot equation and growing a The boundary of the
complex structure by applying a few simple Mandelbrot Set with Red,
White, and Blue style.
rules.
The Mandelbrot Set

The images of the Mandelbrot set have a complex and infinitely

complicated boundary. Inside the boundary (the black points)
correspond to the locations where the dynamics of the repeating
function are stable and converge to a single shape. Outside the
boundary (the multicolored regions) the dynamics are unstable and
grow to infinity.
Since the points that can be chosen are real numbers that can be
made arbitrarily small, the magnification can increase forever in
finer detail. The boundary of the Mandelbrot set produces a fractal
curve.
The Julia Sets

A Julia Set is another well-known fractal that is closely related to the

Mandelbrot set. Julia Sets are substantially older than the Mandelbrot
set because they were named after Gaston Julia. We covered his
investigation of the iteration of polynomials earlier in the timeline,
and his study of rational functions in the early twentieth century.
Julia Sets contain the points in which the iterations of the repeated
function are stable. For linear discrete systems, this set is inside the
unit circle on the complex plane. The shape of a Julia set depends on
the initial condition parameter which is chosen for the nonlinear
equation.
The Julia Sets

The Mandelbrot Set is a plot of these initial condition parameters and

which values produce Julia Sets with stable (connected) shapes. If
they are unstable, the shape is disconnected Fatou Dust.

An example of a stable Julia set with red, white, and blue style.
Common Fractal
Generation
Techniques
• • •
•••
 Escape-Time Fractals

This type of fractal is produced by a recursively applied dynamic

equation. Some examples of this type have been discussed
already and are the Julia Sets and the Mandelbrot set.

Others included in this category include the Burning Ship fractal

and Lyapunov fractal. These equations are often defined on an
input space such as the complex plane.
 Iterated Function Systems

Iterated function systems (IFS) have a geometric replacement rule

that is fixed. IFS fractals include the Sierpinski carpet, Cantor set,
Peano curve, Sierpinski gasket, Harter-Heighway dragon curve, T-
Square, Koch snowflake, and Menger sponge. These fractals are
also the type produced by visualization programs like Chaotica.
 Random Fractals

Another class of fractal shapes originates from random

(stochastic) processes. These processes were the type
investigated by Mandelbrot’s advisor Paul Levy and cover
Brownian motion, Lévy flight, and power laws.
The random movements appear to be the same and self-
similar across magnitudes and time scales. The most
commonly encountered examples of this type of fractal are
stock and financial asset prices.
THANK YOU!