FRACTALS, SNOW,
Fractals and Nature
Fractals are geometric figures with “self-similarity”, irregular geometric shapes that
have the same degree of irregularity on all scales, that is, no matter at what scale
you look at an image you see the same features. Repetition of patterns such as
branching and spirals are common in Nature, we see it in the human body in the
branching of tracheal tubes in lungs and the veins of hands. We see it in leaves, and
the branching of trees. Branching and spiral fractals even appear in such diverse
things as sea shells, lightning and pineapples!
Coastlines, rivers, mountains, even clouds can display geometric fractal patterns. If
you look at a satellite image of a coastline, without the clues of buildings, trees or
boats, it can be hard to tell if you are looking at the edge of an island 10 miles long
or 1,000 miles of coast. Features such as river inlets, headlands and bays look very
similar at different scales, have a look at http://paulbourke.net/fractals/googleearth/
Photo: Dylan O'Donn
ell/deography.com
Photo: NASA Observatory
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