Fractals

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Fractals

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Fractals
The term fractal was coined in 1975 by Benoît
Mandelbrot, from the Latin fractus, meaning
"broken" or "fractured".

? a shape that is recursively constructed or self-similar,


that is, a shape that appears similar at all scales of
magnification.

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Fractals
• Fractals are geometric objects.
• Many real-world objects like ferns are shaped
like fractals.
• Fractals are formed by iterations.
• Fractals are self-similar.
• In computer graphics, we use fractal functions
to create complex objects.

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Fractals
• A fractal is a geometric construction that is
self-similar at different scales.
• Fractals can be found in nature around us and
have been heavily utilized in mathematics and
computer science to simulate and model
natural objects.
• A mathematical fractal is based on an
equation that undergoes iteration, a form of
feedback based on recursion.

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What is a Fractal?
• A fractal is a mathematical
object that is both self-similar
and chaotic.
•self-similar: As you
magnify, you see the object
over and over again in its
parts.
•chaotic: Fractals are
infinitely complex.

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Fractals features
• Have fine structure when viewed at arbitrarily small scales.
• Satisfy the property of self-similarity.
– Exactly self-similarity
• Appears identical at different scales.
• Defined by iterated functions
– Quasi self-similarity
• Appears approximately but not exactly identical when seen at different
scales
• Contains small copies of entire fractal in distorted and degenerated forms.
• Defined by recurrence relations.
– Statistical self-similarity
• Has numerical or statistical measures which are preserved across scale.
• Defined by statistical

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The first fractals were discovered by a french
Mathematician named Gaston Julia who discovered them
decades before the advent of computer graphics.

Julia’s work was


rediscovered by
Benoit
Mandelbrot.
The most famous
of all fractals is
the Mandelbrot
set.
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Fractals
• Sierpinski's triangle
• Koch Curve
• Contour 1/3rd
• Fern leaf
• Julia Set

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Koch Fractals (Snowflakes)
1/3 1/3

1 1/3 1/3
Generator

Iteration 0 Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 310


Fractal Tree

Generator

Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3 Iteration 4 Iteration 5


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Fractal Fern

Generator

Iteration 0 Iteration 1 Iteration 2 Iteration 3


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Let’s take a look at a famous fractal and how it can be created. Let’s begin
with an equilateral triangle. Our iteration rule is:

For each triangle, join the midpoints of the sides and then remove the
triangle formed in the middle.

And so forth,
until...

Stage 2

Stage 1

Stage 0
This fractal is called the Sierpinski
Triangle
Stage n

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Sierpinski Gasket

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Fractal objects: iterative construction

The Sierpinsky construction

∙ initialization: one filled triangle

∙ iteration step:
remove an upside-down
triangle from the center of
every filled triangle

∙ repeat the step ... (( 312 ))

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Fractal objects: iterative construction

The fractal is defined in


the
mathematical limit of
infinitely many
iterations

(( ∞
8)

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Fractal objects: properties

(a) self-similarity

∙ exactly the same structures


repeat all over the fractal

zoom in
and rescale

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Fractal objects: properties

(a) self-similarity

∙ exactly the same structures


repeat all over the fractal

zoom in
and rescale

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Fractal objects: properties

(b) scale invariance:

∙ there is no typical …
… size of objects
… length scale

Sierpinsky:
contains triangles of
all possible sizes

apart from “practical” limitations:


- size of the entire object
- finite number of iterations (“resolution”)

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Koch Curve

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Let’s consider another well known fractal called the Koch Curve.
The iteration rule for this fractal is:

For each segment, remove the middle third and replace it with an
upside-down V which has sides the same length as the removed piece.

Stage
Stage3
Stage
Stage 150
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If we put three Koch curves together, we get...

The Koch Snowflake!


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Hilbert Curve

• Another space-filling curve

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Koch Snowflake
• Same as the Koch curve but starts with an
equilateral triangle

Images: ccs.neu.edu(L), commons.wikimedia.org(R) 24


Sierpinski Triangle

• Generate by subdividing an equilateral


triangle
• Amazingly, you can also construct the
Sierpinski triangle with the Chaos Game:
– Mark the three vertices of an equilateral triangle
– Mark a random point inside the triangle (p)
– Pick one of the three vertices at random (v)
– Mark the point halfway between p and v
– Repeat until bored
• This process can be used with any polygon to generate a
similar fractal
Images: curvebank.calstatela.edu(L), egge.net(R) 25
Fractals
Example of Fractals

Hilbert curve

Peano curve

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Source: http://mathworld.wolfram.com
Fractal tree

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Mandelbrot Set

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Julia Set

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Barnsley Fern

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