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Written in a style that is accessible to a wide audience, The Fractal Geometry of Nature inspired popular interest in this emerging field. Mandelbrot's unique style, and rich illustrations will inspire readers of all backgrounds.
Written in a style that is accessible to a wide audience, The Fractal Geometry of Nature inspired popular interest in this emerging field. Mandelbrot's unique style, and rich illustrations will inspire readers of all backgrounds.
Three classic fractals, tamed. Galaxies and eddies. Scaling fractals. Nonscaling fractals. Self-mapping fractals. Randomness. Stratified random fractals. Fractional brown fractals. A book-within-the-book, in color. Random tremas; texture. Miscellany. Of men and ideas.
From the reviews: "In the world of mathematics, the 1980's might well be described as the "decade of the fractal". Starting with Benoit Mandelbrot's remarkable text The Fractal Geometry of Nature, there has been a deluge of books, articles and television programmes about the beautiful mathematical objects, drawn by computers using recursive or iterative algorithms, which Mandelbrot christened fractals. Gerald Edgar's book is a significant addition to this deluge. Based on a course given to talented high- school students at Ohio University in 1988, it is, in fact, an advanced undergraduate textbook about the mathematics of fractal geometry, treating such topics as metric spaces, measure theory, dimension theory, and even some algebraic topology. However, the book also contains many good illustrations of fractals (including 16 color plates), together with Logo programs which were used to generate them. ... Here then, at last, is an answer to the question on the lips of so many: 'What exactly is a fractal?' I do not expect many of this book's readers to achieve a mature understanding of this answer to the question, but anyone interested in finding out about the mathematics of fractal geometry could not choose a better place to start looking." #Mathematics Teaching#1
This lovely little book will take off and fly on its own power, but the author has asked me to write a few words, and one should not say no to a friend. Specific topics in fractal geometry and its applications have already benefited from several excellent surveys of moderate length, and gossip and preliminary drafts tell us that we shall soon see several monographic treatments of broader topics. For the teacher, however, these surveys and monographs are not enough, and an urgent need for more helpful books has been widely recognized. To write such a book is no easy task, but Jens Feder meets the challenge head on. His approach combines the old Viking's willingness to attack many difficulties at the same time, and the modern Norwegian's ability to achieve fine balance between diverging needs. lowe him special gratitude for presenting the main facts about R/ S analysis of long-run dependence; now a wide scientific public will have access to a large group of papers of mine that had until this day remained fairly confidential. Last but not least, we are all grateful to Jens for not having allowed undue personal modesty to deprive us of accounts of his own group's varied and excellent work. He did not attempt to say everything, but what he said is just fine. Benoit B. Mandelbrot Physics Department, IBM Thomas J.
These days computer-generated fractal patterns are everywhere, from squiggly designs on computer art posters to illustrations in the most serious of physics journals. Interest continues to grow among scientists and, rather surprisingly, artists and designers. This book provides visual demonstrations of complicated and beautiful structures that can arise in systems, based on simple rules. It also presents papers on seemingly paradoxical combinations of randomness and structure in systems of mathematical, physical, biological, electrical, chemical, and artistic interest. Topics include: iteration, cellular automata, bifurcation maps, fractals, dynamical systems, patterns of nature created through simple rules, and aesthetic graphics drawn from the universe of mathematics and art. Chaos and Fractals is divided into six parts: Geometry and Nature; Attractors; Cellular Automata, Gaskets, and Koch Curves; Mandelbrot, Julia and Other Complex Maps; Iterated Function Systems; and Computer Art. Additionally, information on the latest practical applications of fractals and on the use of fractals in commercial products such as the antennas and reaction vessels is presented. In short, fractals are increasingly finding application in practical products where computer graphics and simulations are integral to the design process. Each of the six sections has an introduction by the editor including the latest research, references, and updates in the field. This book is enhanced with numerous color illustrations, a comprehensive index, and the many computer program examples encourage reader involvement.
Now approaching its tenth year, this hugely successful book presents an unusual attempt to publicise the field of Complex Dynamics. The text was originally conceived as a supplemented catalogue to the exhibition "Frontiers of Chaos", seen in Europe and the United States, and describes the context and meaning of these fascinating images. A total of 184 illustrations - including 88 full-colour pictures of Julia sets - are suggestive of a coffee-table book. However, the invited contributions which round off the book lend the text the required formality. Benoit Mandelbrot gives a very personal account, in his idiosyncratic self-centred style, of his discovery of the fractals named after him and Adrien Douady explains the solved and unsolved problems relating to this amusingly complex set.
Fractals are characterized by the repetition of similar patterns at ever-diminishing scales. Fractal geometry has emerged as one of the most exciting frontiers on the border between mathematics and information technology and can be seen in many of the swirling patterns produced by computer graphics. It has become a new tool for modeling in biology, geology, and other natural sciences. Anthropologists have observed that the patterns produced in different cultures can be characterized by specific design themes. In Europe and America, we often see cities laid out in a grid pattern of straight streets and right-angle corners. In contrast, traditional African settlements tend to use fractal structures-circles of circles of circular dwellings, rectangular walls enclosing ever-smaller rectangles, and streets in which broad avenues branch down to tiny footpaths with striking geometric repetition. These indigenous fractals are not limited to architecture; their recursive patterns echo throughout many disparate African designs and knowledge systems. Drawing on interviews with African designers, artists, and scientists, Ron Eglash investigates fractals in African architecture, traditional hairstyling, textiles, sculpture, painting, carving, metalwork, religion, games, practical craft, quantitative techniques, and symbolic systems. He also examines the political and social implications of the existence of African fractal geometry. His book makes a unique contribution to the study of mathematics, African culture, anthropology, and computer simulations.
Fractals Everywhere, Second Edition covers the fundamental approach to fractal geometry through iterated function systems. This 10-chapter text is based on a course called "Fractal Geometry", which has been taught in the School of Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. After a brief introduction to the subject, this book goes on dealing with the concepts and principles of spaces, contraction mappings, fractal construction, and the chaotic dynamics on fractals. Other chapters discuss fractal dimension and interpolation, the Julia sets, parameter spaces, and the Mandelbrot sets. The remaining chapters examine the measures on fractals and the practical application of recurrent iterated function systems. This book will prove useful to both undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines, including mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering, computer science, and geophysical science.
For almost ten years chaos and fractals have been enveloping many areas of mathematics and the natural sciences in their power, creativity and expanse. Reaching far beyond the traditional bounds of mathematics and science to the realms of popular culture, they have captured the attention and enthusiasm of a worldwide audience. The fourteen chapters of the book cover the central ideas and concepts, as well as many related topics including, the Mandelbrot Set, Julia Sets, Cellular Automata, L-Systems, Percolation and Strange Attractors, and each closes with the computer code for a central experiment. In the two appendices, Yuval Fisher discusses the details and ideas of fractal image compression, while Carl J.G. Evertsz and Benoit Mandelbrot introduce the foundations and implications of multifractals.
