Chaos, Communication

and Consciousness
Module PH19510

Lecture 15
Fractals
Overview of Lecture
What are Fractals ?
Fractal Dimensions
How do fractals link to chaos ?
Examples of fractal structures
Chaos Making a New Science
James Gleick
Vintage
ISBN
0-749-38606-1

8.99
http://www.around.com
 What are Fractals ?
"Clouds are not spheres, coastlines are not
circles, bark is not smooth, nor does lightning
travel in straight lines" - B.B. Mandelbrot
Fractals are rough or fragmented geometric
shapes that can be subdivided into parts, each
of which is exactly, or statistically a reduced-
size copy of the whole : self-similarity
The Koch curve
One of simplest
fractals
Start with line
Replace centre 1/3
with 2 sides of
Repeat
 The Koch Snowflake

Start with equilateral

triangle
Apply Koch curve to
each edge
Perimeter increases
by 4/3 at each
iteration
Area bounded by
circle
 Dimensions of Objects
D=1 D=2 D=3

Consider objects
in 1,2,3
dimensions
Reduce length of
ruler by factor, r r=2
Quantity N=2
N=4
increases by
N=8
N = rD
log N
Take logs: r=3
D N=3
logr N=9
N = 27
Fractal Dimensions
"How long is the coast of Britain?"
In Euclidian geometry, the dimension is
always an integer.
For fractals, the dimension is usually a
fraction.
Fractal Dimension of Koch
Snowflake

using a ruler of length L (green) - total length = 3L

L
using a ruler of length (red) - total length = 4L
3
L 16 L
using a ruler of length (blue) - total length =
9 3
To find the fractal dimension, either plot a graph of log(total length)
against log(ruler length) - the gradient is (1-D)
Or D log N logr log(4 ) log(3) 1.26
Coastlines and Fractal Dimensions
Coastlines are irregular, so
a measure with a straight
ruler only provides an
estimate.
The ruler on the right is half
that used on the left, but the
estimate of L on the right is
longer.
If we halved the scale again, we would get a similar
result, a longer estimate of L.
In general, as the ruler gets diminishingly small, the
length gets infinitely large.
Coastlines and Fractal Dimensions

Lewis Fry Richardson

Relationship between length of national
boundary and scale size
Linear on log-log plot
Fractals and Chaos
System has boundary between stable and
chaotic behaviour
Boundary is fractal in nature
Strange attractor
Never repeats
Finite volume of phase space
Infinite length
Fractal in nature
The Mandelbrot set
The Mandelbrot Set
First Pictures 1978
Explored 1980s B.B.Mandelbrot
Stability of iterated function
z

zn+1 zn2+c
z0 = 0
Stable if |z|<2
Self Similarity of Mandelbrot set

Increasing magnification shows embedded

copies of main set
Similar but not identical
The Mandelbrot Monk
Udo of Achen
1200-1270AD
Nativity scene
Discovered by Bob
Schpike 1999
 Fractals in Nature
Electrical
Discharge from
Tesla Coil
 Fractals in Nature

Lichtenberg Figure

Created by exposing plastic rod to electron beam & injecting charge

into material. Discharged by touching earth connector to left hand end
Fractals in Nature

Fern grown by nature Ferns grown in a computer

Fractals in Nature
Romanesco

(a cross between
broccoli and
Cauliflower)
Fractals in
Nature

Blood vessels in lung

Growth of mould
Fractals in Art
Mandalas
 Fractals in Art
Visage of War

Salvador Dali (1940)

Fractals in Technology
Fractal
antennae for
radio comms

Many length
scales
broadband
Review of Lecture
What are Fractals ?
Fractal Dimensions
How do fractals link to chaos ?
Examples of fractal structures