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Integration of Fractal Geometry into Mathematics and Science Curricula, Grades 5 12

Curriculum Strands, Vocabulary, and Major Contributors

Developed by MathScience Innovation Center

Betsey Davis, Leader Arletta Aelshire Laura Blackburn Gayle Bynum Andrew Derer Rachel Martin Theresa Meade Patricia Miller Steve Oden Rebecca Pittman Gregg Whisler

Draft 1 June 2008

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Major Curriculum Strands 1. Fractals are self-similar. 2. Fractals are formed by a repetitive process in which each repetition builds on the prior result. 3. Fractals look the same at any scale. 4. Fractals have unique dimensions (roughness) that can be mathematically described. 5. Computer technology has enabled centuries of mathematical research to be understood and expanded to form the discipline of fractal geometry. 6. Fractal patterns are used to model nature in creating art, music, architecture and new processes, tools, and products that benefit society.

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1. Fractals are self-similar

Beginner 1.11 Similar objects have the same shape, but not necessarily the same size. 1.12 A self-similar object is composed only of parts shaped like itself. 1.13 Mathematical fractals are self-similar. Natural fractals are approximately self-similar. 1.14 The formation of selfsimilar patterns requires geometric transformations: translation, reflection, dilation and rotation. 1.15 Fractals have patterns within patterns (in contrast to growing and repeating patterns). 1.16 Self-similarity is found in many living organisms. Intermediate 1.21 A statistical self-similar object is composed of parts approximately shaped like itself. 1.22 A statistical fractal is approximately self-similar. 1.23 Statistical fractals occur throughout the natural world. They may be called natural or random fractals. 1.24 In mathematics, a fractal sequence is one that contains itself as a proper subsequence. An example is 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ... 1.25 There are several methods to test a numerical sequence to determine if it is a fractal sequence including upper and lower cuts. Advanced 1.31 Fractals are the patterns in chaos. 1.32 When randomly generated points are pulled into a pattern toward a given point, the point is called a strange attractor. 1.33 Fractals are the most commonly occurring strange attractors in nature and frequently occur at the boundaries between two different zones or basins of attraction. 1.34 Relationships exist among Pascals triangle, Sierpinskis triangle and Cellular Automata.

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2. Fractals are formed by a repetitive process in which each repetition builds on the prior result.
Beginner 2.11 To iterate means to repeat the same step or procedure. 2.12 Recursion is the process of repeating a series of steps, with each step building on the previous results. 2.13 Fractals are formed by recursion. 2.14 The beginning point of a fractal, the seed, is called Stage 0; with each recursion, the resulting iteration is labeled with a higher number, e.g .the first iteration is Stage 1, the second is Stage 2, the third is Stage 3. 2.15 Geometric fractals are the lines, shapes and patterns that can be generated by iterations that follow specific rules. The patterns have identical self-similarity and are exact scaled copies of the original. There may be infinite stages. Examples are Cantor Dust, the Koch snowflake, and the Sierpinski Triangle Intermediate 2.21Recursion uses part of the output as input for the next iteration. 2.22 Statistical or Stochastic fractals are the patterns produced in nature where the iterative process is impacted by random accidental parameters. The patterns are statistically self-similar; that is, the parts have the same statistical properties as the original. Examples are human blood vessels and neurons, the branching of trees, and the growth of bacterial colonies Advanced 2.31 Fractal patterns are formed through geometric, algebraic, and natural processes. 2. 32 Geometric Fractals are the lines, shapes and patterns that can be generated by iterated function systems following specific rules. The patterns have identical self-similarity and are exact scaled copies of the original. There may be infinite stages. Examples are Cantor Dust, the Koch snowflake, and the Sierpinski Triangle. 2. 33 Algebraic or Escape Time fractals are the patterns generated by nonlinear iterative processes in which the range of input values is controlled. By adjusting a few input values, changes can occur in the resulting fractal. The patterns are selfsimilar, but are not exact scaled copies of the original. There may be infinite stages. Examples are the Mandelbrot and Julia sets. 2. 34 Statistical or Stochastic fractals are the spatial and temporal patterns produced in nature where the iterative process is impacted by random accidental parameters. The patterns are statistically self-similar; that is, the parts have the same statistical properties as the original. Selfsimilarity holds over a limited range of scales. Examples are human blood vessels and neurons, the branching of trees, and the growth of bacterial colonies.

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3. Fractals look the same at any scale.

Beginner 3.11 To zoom means to look closer or further away, that is, to change scale. Fractals are geometric shapes or patterns that have about the same form whether they are examined from close up or far away. 3.12 A mathematical fractal is self-similar at all stages. Examples of mathematical fractals are the Sierpinski Triangle, Koch Snowflake, Mandelbrot set. 3.13 Natural fractals are approximately self-similar at each repeated stage. Because they are influenced by random events in nature, they are not exactly self-similar. Examples of natural fractals include trees, the human respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems, and erosion patterns.

Intermediate 3.21 Scale factor is a constant equal to the ratio of two proportional lengths of corresponding similar figures. It is also called the constant of proportionality. The ratio of the areas of two similar figures is the square of the scale factor and the ratio of the volumes is the cube of the scale factor. 3.22 A fractal is scale invariant it looks the same at any scale. This is a form of symmetry

Advanced 3.31 Studying the perimeter-area ratio of a closed region for different stages may help to identify a fractal pattern because the length of fractal perimeters increases without bound as the scale at which they are measured goes to 0.

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4. Fractals have unique dimensions (roughness) that can be mathematically described.

Beginner 4.11 A fractal has roughness that differs from classical geometric shapes. 4.12 Throughout the stages of a mathematical fractal, the properties of self-similarity and dimension remain constant. 4.13 Fractal dimension, a measure of roughness, is based on the number of new pieces and the relative size of these pieces in each new iteration of a self-similar pattern. Intermediate 4.21 Smooth mathematical or theoretical shapes have classical Euclidean integral dimensions: 0 for a point, 1 for a line, 2 for a plane, and 3 for a solid. 4.22 Fractals have rough surfaces or edges that cannot be described by Euclidean shapes and formulas. Fractals are in-between classic Euclidean shapes and may be described by non-integral values. For example, a von Koch snowflake has a fractal dimension between 1 and 2 and a Menger sponge has a fractal dimension between 2 and 3. 4.23 Fractal dimension is a measure of irregularity or roughness that describes how completely a fractal appears to fill a line, a plane or space. 4.24 Box-counting using different scaled grids is a quantitative method of determining the fractal dimension (roughness) of statistically self-similar objects. A curve is covered with a grid of squares and the number of squares that the curve passes through is counted. The process is repeated with grids of smaller and smaller squares. As the grids become smaller or finer, the measured size of the fractal increases. The rate at which the proportion of filled squares increases is a measure of the fractal dimension. Advanced 4.31 The Hausdorff Dimension is used frequently to calculate fractal dimension. The fractal dimension is the slope of the log-log graph, where the independent variable is M, the magnification, and dependent variable is N, the number of new pieces. M is the reciprocal of r, the scale factor (M = 1/r). 4.32 The Hausdorff Dimension equation, is a power law and can be applied directly when all of the pieces are scaled by the same amount. The Moran equation may be used to calculate fractal dimension when the different pieces are scaled by different amounts. 4.33 A fractal has dimension greater than its topographical dimension.

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5. Computer technology has enabled centuries of mathematical research to be understood and expanded to form the discipline of fractal geometry.
Beginner 5.11 Cantor, Hilbert, Sierpinski and von Koch worked with simple geometrical fractals based on points, lines and polygons. 5.12 Fractal geometry was developed in the late 20th century by Benoit Mandelbrot. 5.13 Clark Kimberling is credited with defining fractal sequences in 1995. Intermediate 5.21 Iteration and recursion are valid problem solving techniques. Advanced 5. 31 Gaston Julia and Benoit Mandelbrot are mathematicians who contributed to the understanding of transformations or mappings of the complex plane and their visual representations. 5.32 The Mandelbrot set is a graph of all the Julia sets. The Mandelbrot set exists in parameter space while the Julia set exists in dynamic space. 5.33 Fractal software can perform electronic box-counts using digital images to determine fractal dimension.

5. 22 Iterated Function Systems enable geometrical and algebraic explorations. 5.23 Fractal software allows mathematical exploration of music, art and architecture.

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6. Fractal patterns are used to model nature in creating art, music, architecture and new processes, tools, and products that benefit society.
Beginner 6.11 By applying the principles of fractal geometry, scientists are developing new ways to describe, interpret, predict, and model the natural world. 6.12 L-systems (Lindenmayersystems) can model both geometric and stochastic fractals (Koch, Sierpinski, ferns, trees, and fractal sequences). 6.13 Self-similar patterns are found in nature, art and architecture. 6.14 Fractal patterns have been identified in artworks around the world: music compositions by Bach and Beethoven, architecture of African villages, and rugs from the Middle East. 6.15 Practical applications of fractals include military camouflage, realistic-looking virtual landscapes, and wallpaper to relax the mind. 6.16 Using a fractal pattern, one can compose a melody, creating spatial or temporal selfsimilarity. Intermediate 6.21 Fractal geometry allows quantitative analysis of previously unquantifiable phenomena in a variety of fields. 6.22 By string re-writing, LSystems can model natural fractals by generating branching patterns that mimic plants and living organisms. 6.23 The random walker model can describe the reactiondiffusion process involved in a variety of processes, e.g., termite paths and DNA nucleotide patterns. 6.24 Humans are engaged in smoothing the environment (deforestation, lubricants), yet tend to be more attracted to fractal designs, perhaps because the designs reflect nature. 6.25 Increasing the surface area of a given volume increases the exchange profile, e.g., human lungs, plant roots, and cell phone antennas for better signal reception. Advanced 6.31 Diffusion-Limited Aggregation is a fractal model for growth formations of sponge and coral, dendrites, viscous fingering, lightning and percolation. 6.32 Cellular automata are used to model physical, chemical, biological, and social interactions because cellular automata can produce a considerable variety of behaviors, including some that appear organic, and also many that are fractal. 6.33 Mathematical power laws and fractal models are used to describe growth and patterns in nature. Examples include erosion, migration, interstellar cloud formations, forest fires and travertine formations in Yellowstone National Park. 6.34 Fractal models can help with problem solving and troubleshooting, e.g., cancer detection, tracking underground drainage systems, and rust analysis. 6.35 Fractal geometry helps to model natural phenomena to make predictions such as weather and storm tracking and financial analysis.

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-96.36 Fractals are powerful tools in physics, chemistry, computer science, geography, economics, and even music and art. Although fractals are not a panacea, fractals are new tools for probing the rugged surface of reality. 6.37 Fractal geometry can be used to create new products, e.g. image compression, HD video, and GalaxyIt search engine.

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Vocabulary
aggregation a mutual attraction of particles caused by a physical build up of particles over time. the patterns generated by nonlinear iterative processes in which the range of input values is controlled. By adjusting a few input values, changes can occur in the resulting fractal. The patterns are self-similar, but are not exact scaled copies of the original. There may be infinite stages. Examples are the Mandelbrot and Julia sets. the set of points (each point actually depicting the state of the whole system) which the system occupies during its whole dynamical evolution; destination set to which some initial values converge. Three different attractor applets: http://home.wtal.de/schwebin/myhome/simpiter.htm strange attractors: http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/java/attract/attract.htm Ba-ila a settlement in Zambia, Africa with fractal architecture (pronounced Ba ee- la). http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/fractal/baila.html a set of initial points whose orbits tend to all go to the same one point known as the attractor. Applet for Newton's Method: http://www.math.gatech.edu/~carlen/applets/archived/ClassFiles/Basin s.html the process of branching; the change of the orbit structure with the change of parameter; occurs when a small smooth change made to the parameter values of a system causes a sudden 'qualitative' or topological change in its long-term dynamical behavior

algebraic fractal

attractor

basin of attraction

bifurcation

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- 11 box count a quantitative method of determining the fractal dimension (roughness) of statistically self-similar objects. A curve is covered with a grid of squares and the number of squares that the curve passes through is counted. The process is repeated with grids of smaller and smaller squares. As the grids become smaller or finer, the measured size of the fractal increases. The rate at which the proportion of filled squares increases is a measure of the fractal dimension. Box Count Applet: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/boxdim.html

branching

the duplication of an object revised by change in control; point of change is called singularity ; examples: lightning, trees, antlers. Applet for Fractal Tree-Growing: http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/~evscta/EVSC430L/TreeArchLab/L6treeap plet.html

Brownian motion

the random movement of particles suspended in a liquid or gas or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements. Brownian motion is fractal and a stochastic process. Examples: stock market fluctuations, Applett: http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/more_stuff/Applets/brow nian/brownian.html

bulb or buds period 5

appendages on the main cardioid in the M-Set (Mandelbrot Set). If directly attached, they are called primary bulbs. Any primary bulb in turn has infinitely many smaller bulbs attached, as well as what appear to be antennas. The "main antenna" attached to each bulb seems to consist of a number of spokes which varies from bulb to bulb. There is a relationship between the number of spokes on these antennas and the dynamics of x^2 + c for c lying inside the primary bulb. The period of all points on the bulb is equal to the number of spokes.

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- 12 butterfly effect a phrase associated with chaos theory, it refers to the idea that small changes at the outset of a non-linear series of events can have large and unpredictable changes in later stages of the series. The concept is an old one but the term is attributed to Lorenz from a talk he gave in 1972: "Does the flap of a butterflys wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas". Also neatly encapsulated in the notion that predicting the weather is impossible because even the process of talking about the weather will cause it to change. Applet: http://www.cmp.caltech.edu/~mcc/chaos_new/Lorenz.html

Cantor Set or Cantor Dust

remove middle one-third of a line segment and repeat the process on each subsequent resulting line segment to create this fractal. Applet: http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/cantorcomb/ used to model physical, chemical, biological, and social interactions, this discrete tool consists of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states. Every cell has the same rule for updating, based on the values in the neighborhood around the cell. Each time the rules are applied to the whole grid a new generation is created. Example: game of life. Applet: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/newcellular.html unpredictability. Chaos theory involves the complexity of the causal relationship between events. Any 'seemingly' insignificant event in the universe has the potential to trigger a chain reaction that will change the whole system. Chaos Game Applet ( Sierpinski): http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/chaos-game.html Chaos Game Applet (IFS): http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/fractalina.html Applet: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/chaos.html a coordinate plane with all real numbers, a, as the horizontal axis and all pure imaginary numbers, bi. as the vertical axis, on which all complex numbers, a + bi, can be plotted. Applet: http://www.math.ucla.edu/~tao/java/Plane.html an art technique of placing paint between two sheets and as the sheets separate, paint adheres to both sheets, forming ridges between the papers. By increasing distance between the papers, the paint ridges coalesce and a branching pattern appears. As more and more ridges coalesce, a dendritic fractal forms. Practiced by Max Ernst and Oscar Dominquez in the 1930s to replicate nature in paintings

cellular automata

chaos

complex plane

decalcomania

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- 13 dendrite a term referring to a single component of a branching pattern. "Dendro" is a Greek root word meaning "tree". created by a rule; deterministic fractals are generated by a specific rule with predictable patterns and are not chaotic; the rule may be infinitely repeated; examples are Koch's snowflake and Sierpinski's triangle. (DLA) particles moving randomly in Brownian motion form fractal clusters when diffusion is the main transport. These clusters of particles are called aggregates or Brownian trees. Examples are electrochemical depositions, mineral deposits, Hele-Shaw flow, the structure of trees and blood vessels and dielectric breakdowns. DLA is now recognized as a widespread, important physical process. Except for the random walk, DLA is perhaps the simplest process that makes a fractal structure. As such, it serves as a paradigm for more complicated processes like turbulence or avalanches, where fractal-like structures are believed to occur. Applets: http://apricot.polyu.edu.hk/~lam/dla/dla.html http://argento.bu.edu/java/java/dla2/dlaapplet.html a stretch or shrink; a transformation changing the scale factor, changing size Applet: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_296_g_4_t_3.html sometimes called a paper folding fractal or Jurassic fractal electrically induced precipitation of an ionic compound around one of the electrical poles.

deterministic

diffusion limited aggregation

dilation

dragon fractal electrochemical deposition

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escape

if for a given value of c, the absolute value of z sub n plus 1 , where z sub n squared plus c exceeds 2, then z will not remain in orbit, but grow to infinity; it escapes orbit and is not in the Mandelbrot set; how fast or how slow it grows affects the pixel color of c. Applet: http://library.thinkquest.org/2647/chaos/escjava.htm Euclidean geometry defines the dimension of a point to be 0, a line as 1, a plane as 2 and space as 3-dimensional. Beginner: A self-similar object, formed by recursion that looks the same no matter how close you zoom. Intermediate: an object, shape, curve or numerical pattern that exhibits self-similarity over at least 3 scales. Advanced: a set for which the Hausdorff dimension strictly exceeds the topological dimension. a statistical quantity that indicates how completely a fractal appears to fill line, a plane or space coastline applet: http://polymer.bu.edu/java/java/coastline/coastline.html

Euclidean dimension fractal

fractal dimension

fractal dimension of if one takes a slice through a fractal object with D larger than or equal to 3 D object 2, the dimension of the resulting curve is D - 1. Though observations of interstellar or terrestrial clouds do not represent such slices, but projections of the whole cloud on the sky plane, one may suppose that the dimension D of the cloud itself is about the perimeter dimension plus one. fractal dimension of an indicator of how irregular the outline of the object is. If the object is a perimeter smooth and regular, like a circle of a square, then D = 1, and the areas grows as the square of the perimeter. If the perimeter is distorted from a normal line, its fractal dimension is somewhere between 1 and 2. fractal music music of pitches, volume, or timing with fractal patterns. Fractal Music Composer: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/fracmusic.html a sequence that contains itself as a proper subsequence.

fractal sequence

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generator

the line segment or figure that replaces the initiator in stages 1 to infinity visual fractal; shape, not numerical pattern concept of non-integer dimension introduced by Felix Hausdorff generalizing the familiar notion of length, area, and volume. two transparent plates separated by a given distance; patterns of viscous fingering are obtained by injecting liquids of varying viscosities between the plates a space-filling curve which completely fills up the unit square. The basic elements are "Us" (a square with one open side) and "joins" (a segment that joins two Us). Applets: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~vbb/misc/sfc/index.html http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/AnotherHilbertCurve/

geometric fractal Hausdorff dimension Hele-Shaw cell

Hilbert curve

initiator iterated function system

the line segment or figure that is replaced by the generator; stage 0 (IFS) made up of the union of several copies of itself, each copy being transformed by a function: An initial image is transformed by a set of transformations (functions) producing a new image. The new image is then transformed by the same transformations producing another new image. Thus, each time the image is transformed, an iteration occurs. Deterministic IFS Applet: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/detifs.html Random IFS Applet: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/randomifs.html a repeated step; in fractal geometry the initial step or stage is the 0th iteration, and the first repeated step is the 1st iteration or stage 1. Applet (x^2 +C): http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/Iteration.html

iteration (iterate)

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Julia Set

fractals credited to Gaston Julia in 1915; Julia set is now associated with those points z = x + iy on the complex plane and the series z(n+1) = z(n)^2 + c; c is a complex constant, one gets a different Julia set for each c. Applet: http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/JuliaIteration.html Applet: http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/M-set.html a deterministic fractal with infinite stages possible described by von Koch in 1904; divide each segment of stage 0 into 3 equal lengths and replace with 4 segments equal to 1/3 the length of the original segment; repeat.
http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/fractal/koch.htm

Koch snowflake

logarithm

the logarithm of a given number to a given base is the power or exponent to which the base must be raised in order to produce the given number. For example, the logarithm of 1000 to the common base 10 is 3, because 10 raised to the 3rd power is 1000. two-dimensional plot of numerical data, plotting the logarithm of the values on both axes. a test for determining if a sequence is a fractal sequence; subtract one from every term and then discard all zeros; if the resulting sequence remains the same as the original, it is a fractal sequence. or Lindenmayer System; a parallel rewriting system, namely a set of rules and symbols, used to model the growth processes of plant development and self-similar fractals such as iterated function systems. Applet: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/lsystem.html the reciprocal of r, the scale factor (M = 1/r)

log-log graph

lower cut or lower trimming

L-system

magnification

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Mandelbrot Set

those points z = x + iy on the complex plane for which the series z(n+1) = z(n)^2 + c does not tend to infinity. c is a complex constant; Mandelbrot set forms a kind of index into the Julia set. A Julia set is either connected or disconnected, values of c chosen from within the Mandelbrot set are connected while those from the outside of the Mandelbrot set are disconnected. Applets: http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/MandelJulia.html http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/M-setIteration.html Movie making applet: http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/applets/JuliaMovie.html three-dimensional version of Sierpinski's carpet accredited to Karl Menger. http://www.mathematik.com/Menger/Menger2.html Multifractal measures may prove useful in describing the distribution of craters on the moon as well as the distribution of galaxies in the universe. if for a given value of c, the absolute value of z sub n plus 1 , where z sub n squared plus c never exceeds 2, then z will remain in orbit, never going to infinity; as a member of the Mandelbrot set, c's pixel will be colored black. Applets: http://www.ibiblio.org/e-notes/MSet/Anim/ManJuOrb.html http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/2854/java_orbits.html a quantity that defines certain characteristics of systems or functions; parameter space is simply the set of values that this parameter can take. Example: for a complex quadratic mapping parameter space is the parameter plane (c-plane),in which points (complex numbers) are parameters of complex quadratic function. In that parameter plane there is the Mandelbrot set. a geometric arrangement of the binomial coefficients in a triangle named after Blaise Pascal Applet: (Sierpinski) http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/pasctri.html

Menger sponge

multifractal

orbit

parameter

Pascal's Triangle

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percolation

the process of finding an unbroken path across a lattice of randomly filled cells. Examples: oil recovery and radioactive waste disposal Blaze Applet: http://polymer.bu.edu/java/java/blaze/blazeapplet.html when for a given value of c, the absolute value of z sub n plus 1 , where z sub n squared plus c never exceeds 2, then z will remain in orbit, never going to infinity; the number of iterations required to repeat the value is called the period of the orbit. Applet: http://www.ibiblio.org/e-notes/MSet/Anim/ManJuOrb.htm a polynomial relationship that exhibits the property of scale invariance; scaling changes the constant of proportionality as a function of the scale change, but preserves the shape of the function itself. If we take the logarithm of both sides (or, graphically, plotting on a log-log graph), this expression has the form of a linear relationship with slope D, where D is the fractal dimension. chance or likelihood that something will happen. generated by stochastic rather than deterministic processes; examples: Brownian motion, Lvy flight, fractal landscapes, dendritic fractals, diffusion-limited aggregation any stochastic process in which the position of a particle at any time depends only on (1) its position at some previous time and (2) a random variable which determines its next step length and direction. Random walks are fractal. Examples Brownian motion, animal movements in ecological studies, simple model to study polymers. Applet for 1 dimension: http://polymer.bu.edu/java/java/1drw/1drwapplet.html Applet for 2 dimensions: http://polymer.bu.edu/java/java/2drw/2drwapplet.html repeating process whose outcomes follow no describable deterministic pattern, but follow a probability distribution.

period

power laws

probability random fractal

random walk

randomness

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recursion (recurse)

to repeat a step, using some of the output as input on the next step, building on what you have done before. a flip; a rigid geometrical transformation Applet: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_298_g_4_t_3.html

reflection

rotation

a spin: a rigid transformation in a plane or in space that describes the motion of a rigid body around a fixed point Applet: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_300_g_4_t_3.html mathematical models defined on a grid; each grid point has a height, or quantity of sand, that must be below a limiting value. With each time interval, the height of one of the points increases. If a height exceeds a limiting value the sand must be moved to nearby points until all points are once again under the limiting value. examples: ice crystals, certain corals, movements in the Earth's crust, stock market fluctuations and the formation of traffic jams. the comparison of the lengths of sides of two consecutive stages by division; r is a ratio a feature of objects or laws that do not change if length scales are multiplied by a common factor; dilation Stage 0, initiator, or beginning point of a fractal. For a Sierpinski gasket or Koch snowflake, the seed is a triangle. a property of a pattern or object composed of only parts that are similar to the whole; function or curve is invariant under a discrete subset of the dilations; an object that has self-similarity looks the same at any scale. called the Sierpinski gasket or the Sierpinski Sieve, named after Waclaw Sierpinski who described it in 1915. It is a deterministic fractal with infinite stages possible: 1. Start with an equilateral triangle; stage 0; connect the midpoint of the sides to form a smaller triangle and remove it; repeat.

sandpile model

scale factor

scale invariance

seed

self-similarity

Sierpinski triangle

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Applets: http://ejad.best.vwh.net/java/fractals/sierpinski.html http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/sierpinskitriangle/ http://www.cut-theknot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/SierpinskiChaosGame.html similar singularity stage same shape; not necessarily same size point of change step or iteration; stage 0 or initiator is the original recipe, stage 1 is the first repeat or generator. nonlinear modeling using statistical estimation of fractal dimensions has the potential of making valuable contributions in diverse research fields such as geology and cancer research. generated with a random process (such as tossing a coin). Two stochastic fractals generated with the same process will look different. a geometric object that is a fractal and a dynamical object that is chaotic. also called a covering dimension; remains invariant under continuous, one-to-one transformations or homeomorphisms. A homeomorphism is a smooth deformation of one space into another without tearing, puncturing, or welding it. Throughout such processes, the topological dimension does not change. A sphere is topologically equivalent to a cube since one can be deformed into the other. Similarly, a line segment can be pinched and stretched repeatedly until it has lost all its straightness, but it will still have a topological dimension of 1. a property of curve being tortuous (twisted; having many turns).example: lightning, retina blood vessels, brain tissue a slide; a rigid geometrical transformation of a given distance in a given direction. Applet: http://www.mathsnet.net/transform/traindex.html

statistical fractal

stochastic fractal

strange attractor

topographical dimension

tortuosity

translation

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upper cut, upper trimming

a test for determining if a sequence is a fractal sequence; if the first occurrence of each integer is deleted from the sequence, the resulting sequence is the same is the original. If it passes this test, a pattern is a fractal sequence.

viscous fingering

structures obtained by injecting a low viscosity fluid into a medium of high viscosity fluid with a high injection rate; typically consist of fingers of invading fluid that propagate through the medium with only a few small trapped clusters of fluid left behind. Viscous fingering was first studied in a Hele-Shaw cell. Similar growth patterns have been found for viscous fingering, bacterial growth, flame propagation, dielectric breakdown, electrodeposition, solidification, metal corrosion, and diffusion limited aggregation (DLA).

zoom

to view closer or farther away; change scale

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People
Brown, Robert Scottish botanist who in 1827, while examining pollen grains and the spores of mosses suspended in water under a microscope, observed minute particles within vacuoles in the pollen grains executing a continuous jittery motion, today called "Brownian motion". b December 21, 1773 A French mathematician who studied iterative and recursive processes like z--> z^2 + c, which was later analyzed with computers by Benot Mandelbrot to generate graphical representations now popularly called the Mandelbrot set. b. February 28, 1878 A French mathematician and physicist who first discovered chaos. b. April 29, 1854 A mathematician, researcher and an entrepreneur who has worked on fractal compression to revolutionize the way images are being stored and manipulated. living, b. September 1, 1946 German mathematician known for set theory who explored the Cantor Set or Cantor Dust which was one of the earliest mathematical fractals to have been described. b. March 3, 1845 American professor of mathematics at Boston University whose area of research is dynamical systems and chaos. He has written over 100 research papers and co-authored or edited 13 books on these topics. b. April 9, 1948, living American fractal artist who uses everyday manufactured materials such as Scotch tape, Styrofoam cups, and drinking straws to create large scale sculptures that often have a biomorphic quality. She earned her MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1999. American mathematician at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY who studied fractals in African architecture. b. December 25, 1958 living

Fatou, Pierre

Poincar, Henri

Barnsley, Michael

Cantor, Georg

Devaney, Robert L.

Donovan, Tara

Eglash, Ron

MathScience Innovation Center 2008

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Ernst, Max

A German artist who explored the technique of decalcomania which involves pressing paint between two surfaces to create fractals. b. April 2, 1891

Fey-den, Anne Boer Dutch mathematician who studied sand pile models and published information on the Zhang model in 2008. Hausdorff, Felix German mathematician who is considered to be one of the founders of modern topology and who introduced the concepts now called Hausdorff measure and Hausdorff dimension, which have been useful in the theory of fractals b. November 8, 1868. German mathematician who explored the fractal known as the Hilbert Curve or Space which was one of the earliest mathematical fractals to have been described. b. January 23, 1862 French mathematician who devised the formula for the Julia set. The Julia Set is closely related to the Mandelbrot Set. b .February 3, 1893 American mathematician and music composer at University of Evansville in Indiana, known as the father of Fractal Sequences for his pioneering research in that field, published in 1995. b .November 7, 1942 living Swedish mathematician, who explored the fractal known as the Koch snowflake, which was one of the earliest mathematical fractals to have been described. B .January 25, 1870 A French mathematician who, in 1938 described a new self-similar fractal curve, the Lvy C curve. Mandelbrot was his student at the cole Polytechnique. A Levy flight is a type of random walk .b .September 15, 1886 American mathematician and meteorologist who pioneered chaos theory, defining strange attractors and the butterfly effect. b. May 23, 1917

Hilbert, David

Julia, Gaston

Kimberling, Clark

Koch, Helge von

Levy, Paul Pierre

Lorenz, Edward

MathScience Innovation Center 2008

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Mandelbrot, Benoit French-Jewish-American mathematician born in Poland, known as the B. Father of Fractal Geometry; published the definitive work The Fractal Geometry of Nature in 1975. b. November 20, 1924 living Pascal, Blaise French mathematician and physicist who wrote Treatise on the Arithmetical Triangle, describing a convenient arrangement for binomial coefficients, now called Pascal's triangle. B .June 19, 1623 Peano's famous space-filling curve appeared in 1890. He used it to show that a continuous curve cannot always be enclosed in an arbitrarily small region. This was an early example of what came to be known as a fractal. b .August 27, 1858 American physicist at the University of Michigan together with T. A. Witten published the Witten-Sander model or DLA (diffusion limited aggregation) in 1981.living, b. August 17, 1941 A Japanese mathematician working in the field of complex dynamics who proved that the boundary of the Mandelbrot set has Hausdorff dimension two in 1991 and is currently professor at Kyoto University in Japan. Polish mathematician who explored the fractals known as the Sierpinski Triangle and the Sierpinski Gasket or Carpet which was one of the earliest mathematical fractals to have been described. b. March 14, 1882 American physicist at the University of Chicago who together with L. M. Sander published the Witten-Sander model or DLA (diffusion limited aggregation) in 1981. living, b. August 24, 1944

Peano, Giuseppe

Sander, Leonard M.

Shishikura, Mitsuhiro

Sierpinski, Waclaw

Witten, Thomas A. Jr.

MathScience Innovation Center 2008