Fractals : an exploration into the dimensions of curves and sufaces

Abstract

When many people think of fractals, they think of the beautiful images created by Mandelbrot’s set or the intricate dragons of Julia’s set. However, these are just the artistic stars of the fractal community. The theory behind the fractals is not necessarily pretty, but is very important to many areas outside the world of mathematics. This paper takes a closer look at various types of fractals, the fractal dimensionality of surfaces and chaotic dynamical systems. Some of the history and introduction of creating fractals is discussed. The tools used to prevent a modified Koch’s curve from overlapping itself, finding the limit of a curves length and solving for a surfaces dimensional measurement are explored. Lastly, an investigation of the theories of chaos and how they bring order into what initially appears to be random and unpredictable is presented. The practical purposes and uses of fractals throughout are also discussed.