Who Invented Lichtenberg (Fractal) Wood Burning?

Fractal wood burning of a table with lichtenberg electrical patterns

Have you ever seen a tree-like pattern (fractal) on a piece of wood? These patterns are drawn by an embellishing technique known as Lichtenberg (Fractal) Wood Burning. The technique utilizes a high-voltage electric current to burn the layers of wood and expose the fractal patterns buried inside. Do you wonder who invented this dangerous technique …

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How Do Fractals Appear in Nature? 10 Outstanding Examples

Ferns showing a fractal pattern in nature

Fractals are complex and eye-catching shapes that are composed of parts that appear to be a smaller version of the whole. If you look closely, you’ll see examples of these shapes everywhere in natural systems. How do fractals appear in nature? Fractal shapes appear in nature as ferns, trees, snowflakes, lightning, plant shapes, river deltas, …

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What is the Most Famous Fractal?

The full image of the mandelbrot set

A fractal is a complicated geometric shape characterized by its roughness that displays properties of self-similarity at various scales. They are made by iterating on a simple rule in a continuous recursive loop. So you may come to wonder, what is the most famous fractal? This article will discuss everything you need to know about …

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History of Fractals

A mandelbrot set zoom with red white and blue colors

A fractal is a form of an infinitely complicated mathematical shape. In general, a Fractal is a pattern that repeats continuously, and every section of the fractal, no matter how zoomed in or out, appears to be identical to the original shape. So you may come to wonder, who discovered the fractals? In this article, …

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Complete List of Books by Benoit Mandelbrot

A headshot of the father of fractals Benoit Mandelbrot

Benoit Mandelbrot was a famous mathematician who changed the way people viewed and interacted with the shapes and geometry of the world. His life-long work developing and harnessing a field called fractal geometry saw wide-ranging influences across the physical and theoretical world. Today we’re going to be looking at Benoit Mandelbrot: who he is, what …

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How Are Fractals Used in Technology and Engineering?

A smartphone and some of the technologies it enables graphically displayed

The famous images of fractals that we all know are stunning to look at, but you might be left wondering like I was – what are some of the uses of these fractals in technology? How does it affect my life? I combed through piles of science and engineering research to find some of the …

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Are Fractals or Fractal Curves Differentiable?

A warning sign for a slippery slope

Differentiability could be a scary-sounding term, but like a lot of math topics once you learn the term it seems simple. It just takes practice! Since I learned about differentiability, I’ve had 100s of hours of experience with it in my engineering career. As a whole, pure mathematical fractals are not differentiable, however real-life objects …

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How to Draw Fractals by Hand: A Beginner’s Guide

A color wheel with fractal properties

Using fractals in projects is a lot of fun. This beginner’s guide will get you started learning how to draw fractals by hand. Math and algorithm-based art may seem to be a futuristic vision, but it is a growing and widely found concept. Fractal art isn’t a new idea. It’s been hanging around since the …

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Fractals in Art: A Deep Dive

Fractal Mandelbrot Set Zoom Blue Colors

Fractals are the confluence of mathematics and art. Found throughout nature, these self-similar patterns are endlessly fascinating, with a wide range of applications. Fractals have influenced technology, medicine, finances, and, yes, art. Today we’re going to do a deep dive on fractals: what they are, their history, and what makes them so satisfying to look …

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