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A very interesting and very beautiful "fractal". This I found on Dr. Julien (Clint) Sprott's website which has a great many examples of them. Clint is a Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The image is very large indeed, but the wait for it to load is worth it!

What is a fractal you ask? I learn that a fractal is a "rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole. Fractals are generally self-similar and independent of scale." Doug Harrington, in his description says "Fractals are complex, detailed geometric patterns found throughout the natural world. In this case they are complex computer generated images or designs of amazing detail. They are created using mathematical formulae and are infinite in their ability to be viewed in ever increasing detail. The closer you look (zoom in) the more detail there is. Each image represents it's parent image (self similar) but are not static. They can be incredibly mundane or extraordinarily beautiful!" Now you know! I will test your understanding later!

This particular fractal is however the work of Paul Carlson, whose original image can be seen here. Paul has an index site (Paul Carlson's Fractal Galleries) through which you can access four sites that display a great many of his creations. It would seem that he created this image in 1995. Paul permits the use of his images on non-commercial webpages and we thank him for that.

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