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Fractals
Fractals
Fractals
A Fractal is a geometric object whose dimension is fractional. Most fractals are self
similar, that is when any small part of a fractal is magnified the result resembles
the original fractal. Examples of fractals are the Koch curve, the Seirpinski gasket,
and the Menger sponge.
Similarity Dimension:
• Take a line segment of length one unit and divide it into N equal parts. let
old length
S = new length
, then N = S 1 .
N = 3, S = 3
N = 4, S = 2
• Take a cube (dimension 3) of volume one cubic unit and divide it into N
1
congruent parts. Then S = N 3 and N = S 3 .
..
......................
.... .. ..
... ..... ... .. ..
... . . . ..
... ... .. ..
.. ..
... ...................................... N = 8, S = 2
..............................
.... .. ..... ..
.... ... .... ... ... ..
..
.. ........................
.
....... ...........
.. ......... .........
.... .......
.... .
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Exercise 1: T∞ = limn→∞ Tn is called the Seirpinski Triangle or Gasket.
1. What is the perimeter of Tn ?
2. What is the area of Tn ?
3. Compute the fractal dimension of T∞ .
T0 T1 T2
Solution:
1. Pn = ( 32 )n P0 .
2. An = ( 34 )n A0 .
ln3
3. N = 3 and S = 2, hence d = ln2
.
C0 C1 C2
2
Exercise 3: M∞ = limn→∞ Mn is called the Menger Sponge.
0 M0 2 M1 M2
Solution:
1. V0 = 23 = 8 and Vn = 20 · (1/3)3 · (Vn−1 ).
2. A0 = 6 · 22 = 24 and An = 20 · (1/3)2 · (An−1 ) − 24 · (1/3)2 · (At n−1 ) · 2
= (20/9) · Area(Cn−1 ) − (64/3) · (8/9)n−1 where Area(Cn−1 ) is the area of
the n − 1 stage in the construction of the Sierpinski carpet. Hence An =
(8/9)n · 16 + (20/9)n · 8.
ln20
3. N = 20 and S = 3, hence d = ln3
.
Solution:
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..
.. .. .. ..
.
¾......... .
................... . . . . . . . .
.
......... . . . . . . . .
.
......... . . . . . . . ...-
.. ... ... ... ..
..
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
..................................
?
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/fracdim/index.html
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Box Dimension:
Box dimension is another way to measure fractal dimension, it is defined as follows:
If X is a bounded subset of the Euclidean space, and ² ≥ 0. Let N (X, ²) be the
minimal number of boxes in the grid of side length ² which are required to cover
X. We say that X has box dimension D if the following limit exists and has value
D.
ln(N (X, ²))
lim+
²→0 ln( 1² )
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1 .................................................
.. .. .. .. .. ..
... ... ... ... ... ...
.. .. .. ..
................................................. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. ..
... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
. .
.................................................
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.................................................
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... ... ... ... ... ...
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................................................. .. .. .. .. ..
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... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
.
.................................................
.. . .
.. .. .. . .. ..
.. .. .. .. ... ...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
. . . . . .-
0 1
² N (X, ²)
1 1
1
2
3
1
4
9
.. ..
. .
1
3n
2n
ln(4 · 3n ) ln 3
Hence D = lim =
n→∞ ln(2n ) ln 2
http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/Software/boxdim.html
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Geometrically, if you plot the results on a graph with ln N (X, ²) on the vertical
axis and ln(1/²) on the horizontal axis, then the slope of the best fit line of the
data will be an approximation of Box dimension of the fractal.
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¾ (ln(4), ln(9))
...................... ......................
.. ..
.. ..
... ...
... ...
.. ..
.. ..
.
. ...
¾..
....................... .....(ln(2), ...........ln(3))
.......
.. .. ..
.. .. ..
.. .. ..
.. .. ..
.. .
. ...
.. ..
.. .. ...
.. .. ..
.. .. ..
...................... . -
(ln(1), ln(1))
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2002/broccoli.shtml
My Results:
1
Ball Size N ²
ln( 1² ) ln(N )
If you throw the 1st point out you get fractal dimension=slope =2.82.
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Divider Dimension:
A fractal curve has fractal (or divider) dimension D if its length L when measured
with rods of length l is given by
L = C · l1−D
C is a constant that is a certain measure of the apparent length, and the equation
above must be true for several different values of l. Consider the Koch curve:
K2
l L
1 1
1 4
3 3
1 16
9 9
.. ..
. .
1 4 n
3n
(3)
Exercise: The west coast of Britain when measured with rods of length 10 km is
3020 km. But when measured with rods of length 100 km it is 1700 km. What is
the fractal dimension of the west coast of Britain?
http://www.eie.polyu.edu.hk/∼cktse/movies/pheno/map.html
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Affine transformations:
An affine transformation is of the form
à ! à ! à ! à !
x a b x e
f( )= · +
y c d y f
or
à ! à ! à ! à !
x r cos(θ) −s sin(φ) x e
f( )= · +
y r sin(θ) s cos(φ) y f
Where r and s are the scaling factors in the x and y directions respectively. θ and φ
measure rotation of horizontal and vertical lines resp. e and f measure horizontal
and vertical translations resp.
6 b 6
c d φ
¾ θ - ¾ -
a
? ?
6 B.. 6
C........................ ... C..........................................B ..
... .... ...
... ... ...
... Similarity ... Af f inity
... .... ...
... 0 .... ...
.
C 0......................... B.. ... ....
C 0............................... B.. 0 ...
... .
... .... ... ... ....
... .... ... .... .
.... ...
... ... .... ... ... ....
... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ...
................................................ - ............................................. .... -
D A0 A D A0 A
1
0
x = 2x x0 = 34 x
y 0 = 21 y y 0 = 12 y
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Rotation is represented as follows:
0
B....
..
... ..
6 6
..... ...
... ..
.. ... ...
..
.. .. ..... ..
..
.. .. ... ..
.. .. ... ..
. B ..... .. B
C ... C .. . ..
.. .. ..
.. .. ..
C 0.............................. .. B..0 ... ...A0
... .
. ... .. ..
... .. ... ... ...
...
...
..
.. ...
... .. .....
... .. ... .. ..
... ... ... θ=0 .. ... θ = 45
... .. ... φ = 45 .. ..... φ=0
... .. ... .. ...
..... ... .. ...
..........................................
. - ............................................ -
D A D A
x0 = x − √12 y x0 = √12 x
y 0 = √12 y y 0 = √12 x + y
à ! à !
cos(θ) − sin(φ) a b
M atrixf orm : =
sin(θ) cos(φ) c d
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B
.....0
... .....
..... ...
.... ...
...
.... ... B
... C ...
.
... ...
C 0..... ...
... ... ....A0
... .. ...
... .. ...
...
...
..
.. .....
... .. ... θ = 45
... ... ..... φ = 45
... .. ...
........
.......................................... -
D A
x0 = √12 x − √12 y
y 0 = √12 x + √12 y
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Shears are represented as follows:
B0
6 6
.......................A ...0.................. ............................................
.. .. ... .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
.. .. ... .. .. ...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. ... .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
.. .. ... .. .. ...
.. ..B .. .. ..B ..C 0
.
C .. .................... .
.. .................... .. .
C .. .................... .
.. .................... .. B0
.. .. ... .. .. ...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. ..
... ... ... ... ... ...
.. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. ... .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
............................................ - .
..................... ....................... -
D A D A
x0 = x x0 = x + 2y
0
y = 2x + y y0 = y
Shear in the y direction Shear in the x direction
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Iterated Function Systems:
An Iterated Function System in R2 is a collection {F1 , F2 , . . . , Fn } of contraction
mappings on R2 . (Fi is a contraction mapping if given x, y then d(Fi (x), Fi (y)) ≤
sd(x, y) where 0 ≤ s < 1)
The Collage Theorem says that there is a unique nonempty compact subset A ⊂ R2
called the attractor such that
Sketch of Proof:
Given a complete metric space X, let H(X) be the collection of nonempty compact
subsets of X. Given A and B in H(X) define d(A, B) to be the smallest number
r such that each point of in A is within r of some point in B and vice versa. If X
is complete so is H(X).
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Finding IFS Rules from Images of Points
Given three non-collinear initial points p1 = (x1 , y1 ), p2 = (x2 , y2 ), p3 = (x3 , y3 )
and three image points q1 = (u1 , v1 ), q2 = Ã (u2!, v2 ), qÃ3 = (u3!, v3Ã) respectively.
! Ã ! Find
x a b x e
an affine transformation T defined by T ( )= · + such
y c d y f
that T (p1 ) = q1 , T (p2 ) = q2 , and T (P3 ) = q3 .
This gives the following six equations in six unknowns:
ax1 + by1 + e = u1
cx1 + dy1 + f = v1
ax2 + by2 + e = u2
cx2 + dy2 + f = v2
ax3 + by3 + e = u3
cx3 + dy3 + f = v3
.....................
... ....................................................................
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ...
.. .
.. .
.. .
.. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ...
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. 0, .5 ..
....................... ....................
. . .5, 0, 0, .5,
....................
. . ....................
......................
..................... . ....................
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.. .. .. .. ..
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.. .
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......................................................................................
...................... .........................
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.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
...................... ...................................................................................... ..........................5, .5, 0
.5, 0, 0,
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ...
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ...
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .
..........................................................................................
.5, 0, 0, .5, 0, 0
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Example:
6
1 .....................................................................
.. .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
... ... ... ..
.. V I .. V II .. V III ...
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
.. .. ..
.
2 ......................
.
. .
. ..
......................................... ......................................... ......................
3 ... .. .. ..
... ... ... ...
.. .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
.. IV .. .. V ..
.. .. ..
.. .. .. ...
.. .. .. ..
1 ...................... .
......................................... .
......................................... ......................
3 ... .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
... ... ... ...
.. I .. II .. III ...
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
.. . .
....................................................................... -
0 2 1
0 3 3 1
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Example:
6
............. ......(5,
.................... ................ 20)
....................
....................... ....(15,
..................... .................. .20)
...................
............
.. ... .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
.5, −.5, 5, .5, ... .5, 5 ... ... ... .5, .5, 5, ... −.5, .5, 15
... ... ... ... ...
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
.
. (5, .15)
. .
. (15, . 15)
. ..
(0, 5) .. . ...........
. . . . . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . .. . . .
........... . . . . . . . . . . . .
........... . . . . . .. .
...........
. . . . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . .. . .
...........
. . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . . .. (20, 15)
.. .. .. .. ..
... ... ... ... ...
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.. ... ... .. ..
... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ...
. .. .. .. ..
.............. ......................
.................... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
........... . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . .
... .. (10,.... 10) ..
..
..
..
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ..
... ... ... ... ..
.. −10 < x < 30
.. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. ... 0 < y < 40
... ... ... ... ...
.............. ......................
.................... ......................
.. . . . . . . . . . . ............
.. . . . . . . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . .
..
............ . . . . . . . . . .
...........
. . . . . . . . . .
..
.
..
.. ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ...
.. . . . ..
.. ... T runk 0, 0,... 10, 0, .333, 0 ... ..
... ... ... ... ...
.. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .
.................................................................................. -
(10, 0)
Download and experiment with the freeware ”IFS Construction Kit” which can be
used to design and draw fractals based on iterated function systems.
You can find it at:
http://ecademy.agnesscott.edu/∼lriddle/ifskit/
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Mandelbrot and Julia Sets:
Consider the complex function Fc (z) = z 2 + c. Given an initial point z0 define its
orbit under Fc to be z0 , z1 , z2 , . . . where zn+1 = zn2 + c.
Define the escape set, Ec , and the prisoner set, Pc , for for the parameter c to be:
Ec = {z0 |z0 ∈
/ Ec }
Now the Julia set for the parameter c, Jc , is the boundary of the escape set Ec .
6 6
z3 z2
z2 z1
z1
z3 z0 z0
¾ - ¾ -
z4
z4
? ?
|z0 | < 1 |z0 | = 1
Hence Ec = {z : |z| > 1}, Pc = {z : |z| ≤ 1}, and therefore J0 is the unit circle.
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The Julia set is either connected (one piece) or totally disconnected(dust).
M = {c ∈ C : Jc is connected}
Experiment with the Java applet ”Mandelbrot and Julia Sets” at:
http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/
Download ”winfeed” at the address below and use it to plot the Julia sets for the
constants c = −.5 + .5i, c = −.7454285 + 0.1130089i, and others.
http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/winfeed.html
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