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Fractals |
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A fractal (from Latin frangere, ‘to break’), in computing, is a geometric figure which has fractional dimension, usually between 1 and 2. Fractals are constructed by continually repeating changes to originally simple figures; for example, a method of constructing a fractal would be to start with the line |, then replacing | by >, to give two straight lines; then replacing each of those straight lines by >; and keeping on doing this. At each stage, the figure constructed so far is one-dimensional, but the fractal itself is too complex to be described with only one co-ordinate, though not filling the plane (which it would need to do to be two-dimensional). Such figures are easily produced using computers; they continue the process until the changes made are smaller than the resolution of the screen or printer on which the result is to be displayed. They have today proved important for computer graphics, particularly for the entertainment industry. SMcL |
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