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- Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!sprite.berkeley.edu!shirriff
- From: shirriff@sprite.berkeley.edu (Ken Shirriff)
- Newsgroups: sci.fractals,news.answers,sci.answers
- Subject: Fractal FAQ
- Supersedes: <fractal-faq_744582100@sprite.Berkeley.EDU>
- Followup-To: sci.fractals
- Date: 17 Aug 1993 20:13:59 GMT
- Organization: University of California, Berkeley
- Lines: 1253
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
- Expires: 10 Sep 1993 20:16:15 GMT
- Message-ID: <fractal-faq_745618575@sprite.Berkeley.EDU>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: hijack.berkeley.edu
- Summary: Fractal software, algorithms, definitions, and references.
- Keywords: fractals, chaos, Mandelbrot
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu sci.fractals:1951 news.answers:11501 sci.answers:377
-
- Archive-name: fractal-faq
- Last-modified: Aug 5, 1993
-
- This file is a frequently asked questions file for sci.fractals. The purpose
- of this file is to collect common fractal questions and answers into a con-
- venient file. This file is normally posted about every two weeks.
-
- Like most FAQs, the most recent copy of this FAQ is archived at various places
- such as rtfm.mit.edu [18.70.0.224]: /pub/usenet/news.answers/fractal-faq and
- ftp.uu.net [137.39.1.9 or 192.48.96.9]: /usenet/news.answers/fractal-faq.Z.
-
- I am happy to receive more information to add to this file. Also, if you can
- correct mistakes you find, let me know.
-
- Please send additions, comments, errors, etc. to Ken Shirriff
- (shirriff@sprite.Berkeley.EDU).
-
- This file is Copyright 1993 Ken Shirriff. Permission is given for non-profit
- distribution of this file, as long as my name remains attached. However, I
- would like to be informed if you distribute this file on other systems, so I
- have an idea of where it is.
-
- Updated questions are marked with an asterisk. The questions which are
- answered are:
- Q1a: What is fractint?
- Q1b: How does fractint achieve its speed?
- Q2a: Where can I obtain software packages to generate fractals?
- Q2b: Where can I obtain fractal papers?
- Q3: Where can I get fractal T-shirts and posters?
- Q4a: How does anonymous ftp work?
- Q4b: What if I can't use ftp to access files?
- *Q5: Where are fractal pictures archived?
- Q6: I want to learn about fractals. What should I read first?
- Q7a: What is the Mandelbrot set?
- Q7b: How is the Mandelbrot set actually computed?
- Q7c: Why do you start with z=0?
- Q7d: What are the bounds of the Mandelbrot set? When does it diverge?
- Q7e: How can I speed up Mandelbrot set generation?
- Q7f: What is the area of the Mandelbrot set?
- Q7g: What can you say about the structure of the Mandelbrot set?
- Q7h: Is the Mandelbrot set connected?
- Q8a: What is the difference between the Mandelbrot set and a Julia set?
- Q8b: What is the connection between the Mandelbrot set and Julia sets?
- Q8c: How is a Julia set actually computed?
- Q8d: What are some Julia set facts?
- Q9a: How does complex arithmetic work?
- Q9b: How does quaternion arithmetic work?
- Q10: What is Feigenbaum's constant?
- Q11a: What is an iterated function system (IFS)?
- Q11b: What is the state of fractal compression?
- Q12a: How can you make a chaotic oscillator?
- Q12b: What are laboratory demonstrations of chaos?
- Q13: What is some information on fractal music?
- Q14: How are fractal mountains generated?
- Q15: What are plasma clouds?
- Q16a: Where are the popular periodically-forced Lyapunov fractals described?
- Q16b: What are Lyapunov exponents?
- Q16c: How can Lyapunov exponents be calculated?
- Q17: What is the logistic equation?
- Q18: What is chaos?
- Q19: What is nonlinearity? What are nonlinear equations?
- Q20: What is a fractal? What are some examples of fractals?
- Q21a: What is fractal dimension? How is it calculated?
- Q21b: What is topological dimension?
- Q22: What is a strange attractor?
- Q23: How can I take photos of fractals?
- Q24: How can I join the BITNET fractal discussion?
- Q25: How can 3-D fractals be generated?
- Q26: What are some general references on fractals and chaos?
-
- You can search for the question you're interested in in "rn" or "trn" using
- "g^Q11" (that's lower-case g, up-arrow, Q, and a number) where "11" is the
- question you wish. Or you may browse forward using <control-G> to search for
- a Subject: line.
-
- Questions and answers
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Fractint
-
- Q1a: What is fractint?
- A1a: Fractint is a very popular freeware (not public domain) fractal genera-
- tor. There are DOS, Windows, OS/2, and Unix/X versions. The DOS version is
- the original version, and is the most up-to-date.
-
- Please note: sci.fractals is not a product support newsgroup for fractint.
- Bugs in fractint/xfractint should usually go to the authors rather than being
- posted.
-
- Fractint is on many ftp sites. For example:
- DOS: ftp to wuarchive.wustl.edu [128.252.135.4]. The source is in the file
- /mirrors/msdos/graphics/frasr181.zip. The executable is in the file
- /mirrors/msdos/graphics/fraint181.zip. It is available on Compuserve: GO
- GRAPHDEV and look for FRAINT.EXE and FRASRC.EXE in LIB 4.
- There is a collection of map, parameter, etc. files for Fractint, called
- FracXtra. Ftp from wuarchive.wustl.edu in
- /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/graphics/fracxtr5.zip.
- Windows: ftp to wuarchive.wustl.edu. The source is in the file
- /mirrors/msdos/windows3/winsr173.zip. The executable is in the file
- /mirrors/msdos/windows3/winfr173.zip.
- OS/2: available on Compuserve in its GRAPHDEV forum. The files are PM*.ZIP.
- These files are also available from ftp-os2.nmsu.edu in
- /pub/os2/2.0/graphics/pmfra2.zip.
- Unix: ftp to sprite.berkeley.edu [128.32.150.27]. The source is in the file
- xfract200.shar.Z. Note: sprite is an unreliable machine; if you can't
- connect to it, try again in a few hours, or try hijack.berkeley.edu.
- Macintosh: there is no Macintosh version of fractint, although there are
- several people working on a port. It is possible to run fractint on the
- Macintosh if you use Insignia Software's SoftAT, which is a PC AT emula-
- tor.
-
- For European users, these files are available from ftp.uni-koeln.de. If you
- can't use ftp, see the mail server info in Q3.
-
- Q1b: How does fractint achieve its speed?
- A1b: Fractint's speed (such as it is) is due to a combination of:
-
- 1. using fixed point math rather than floating point where possible (huge im-
- provement for non-coprocessor machine, small for 486's).
-
- 2. exploiting symmetry of fractal.
-
- 3. detecting nearly repeating orbits, avoid useless iteration (e.g. repeatedly
- iterating 0^2+0 etc. etc.).
-
- 4. reducing computation by guessing solid areas (especially the "lake" area).
-
- 5. using hand-coded assembler in many places.
-
- 6. obtaining both sin and cos from one 387 math coprocessor instruction.
-
- 7. using good direct memory graphics writing in 256-color modes.
-
- The first four are probably the most important. Some of these introduce er-
- rors, usually quite acceptable.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Other fractal software
-
- Q2a: Where can I obtain software packages to generate fractals?
- A2a:
- For X windows:
- xmntns and xlmntn: these generate fractal mountains. They can be obtained
- from ftp.uu.net [137.39.1.9] in the directory
- /usenet/comp.sources.x/volume8/xmntns.
- xfroot: generates a fractal root window.
- xmartin: generates a Martin hopalong root window.
- xmandel: generates Mandelbrot/Julia sets.
- xfroot, xmartin, xmandel are part of the X11 distribution.
- lyap: generates Lyapunov exponent images. Ftp from: ftp.uu.net in
- /usenet/comp.sources.x/volume17/lyapunov-xlib.
- spider: Uses Thurston's algorithm for computing postcritically finite po-
- lynomials, draws Mandelbrot and Julia sets using the Koebe algorithm,
- and draws Julia set external angles. Ftp from: lyapunov.ucsd.edu in
- pub/inls-ucsd/spider.
-
- Distributed X systems:
- MandelSpawn: computes Mandelbrot/Julia sets on a network of machines. Ftp
- from: export.lcs.mit.edu [18.24.0.12]: /contrib/mandelspawn-0.06.tar.Z
- or funic.funet.fi[128.214.6.100]: /pub/X11/contrib/mandelspawn-
- 0.06.tar.Z.
- gnumandel: computes Mandelbrot images on a network. Ftp from:
- informatik.tu-muenchen.de [131.159.0.110] in /pub/GNU/gnumandel.
-
- For Unix/C:
- lsys: generates L-systems as PostScript or other textual output. No graph-
- ical interface at present. (in C++) Ftp from: ftp.cs.unc.edu in
- pub/lsys.tar.Z.
- lyapunov: generates PGM Lyapunov exponent images. Ftp from: ftp.uu.net in
- /usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume23/lyapuov. SPD: contains generators
- for fractal mountain, tree, recursive tetrahedron. Ftp from:
- princeton.edu [128.112.128.1] in /pub/Graphics.
-
- For Mac:
- fractal, L-System, 3DL-System, IFS, FracHill are available from
- ftphost.aukuni.ac.nz [130.216.1.5] in the architec directory.
- fractal-wizard-15.hqx, julias-dream-107.hqx, mandel-net.hqx, mandel-zot-
- 304.hqx, and mandella-70.hqx are available from sumex.stanford.edu in
- /info-mac/app.
- mandel-tv: a very fast Mandelbrot generator. Ftp from: oswego.oswego.edu
- [129.3.1.1] in /pub/mac/da/mandel-tv.hqx.
- There are also commercial programs, such as IFS Explorer and Fractal Clip
- Art, which are published by Koyn Software (314) 878-9125.
-
- For NeXT:
- Lyapunov: generates Lyapunov exponent images. Ftp from:
- nova.cc.purdue.edu in /pub/next/2.0-release/source.
-
- For MSDOS:
- Fractal WitchCraft: a very fast fractal design program. Ftp from:
- garbo.uwasa.fi [128.214.87.1] in /pc/demo/fw1-08.zip.
- CAL: generates more than 15 types of fractals including Mandelbrot,
- Lyapunov, IFS, user-defined formulas, logistic equation, and quatern-
- ion julia sets. Ftp from: oak.oakland.edu [141.210.10.117] (or any
- other Simtel mirror) in pub/msdos/graphics/frcal035.zip.
- Fractal Discovery Laboratory: designed for use in a science museum or
- school setting. The Lab has five sections: Art Gallery ( 72 images --
- Mandelbrots, Julias, Lyapunovs), Microscope ( 85 images -- Biomorph,
- Mandelbrot, Lyapunov, ...), Movies (165 images, 6 "movies": Mandel-
- brot Evolution, Splitting a Mini-Mandelbrot, Fractal UFO, ...), Tools
- (Gingerbreadman, Lorentz Equations, Fractal Ferns, von Koch Snowflake,
- Sierpinski Gasket), and Library (Dictionary, Books and Articles).
- Sampler available from Compuserver GRAPHDEV Lib 4 in DISCOV.ZIP, or
- send high-density disk and self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Earl
- F. Glynn, 10808 West 105th Street, Overland Park, Kansas 66214-3057.
- WL-Plot: plots functions including bifurcations and recursive relations.
- Ftp from wuarchive.wustl.edu in /pub/msdos_uploads/misc/wlplt231.zip.
- For windows: dy-syst.zip. This program explores Newton's method, Mandel-
- brot set, and Julia sets. Ftp from mathcs.emory.edu in pub/riddle.
- There are a whole bunch of fractal programs available from wsmr-
- simtel20.army.mil [192.88.110.20] in the directory "pd1:<msdos.graphics>":
- forb01a.zip: Displays orbits of Mandelbrot mapping. C/E/VGA
- fract30.arc: Mandelbrot/Julia set 2D/3D EGA/VGA Fractal Gen
- fractfly.zip: Create Fractal flythroughs with FRACTINT
- frain181.zip: FRACTINT v18.1 EGA/VGA/XGA fractal generator
- frasr181.zip: C & ASM src for FRACTINT v18.1 fractal gen.
- frcal030.zip: Fractal drawing program: 15 formulae available
- frcaldmo.zip: 800x600x256 demo images for FRCAL030.ZIP
- fdesign.zip: Program to visually design IFS fractals
-
- For Amiga: (all entries marked "ff###" are .lzh files in the Fish Disk set
- available at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu and other sites in /amiga/fish)
- General Mandelbrot generators with many features: Mandelbrot (ff030), Man-
- del (ff218), Mandelbrot (ff239), TurboMandel (ff302), MandelBltiz
- (ff387), SMan (ff447), MandelMountains (ff383, in 3-D), MandelPAUG
- (ff452, MandFXP movies), MandAnim (ff461, anims), ApfelKiste (ff566,
- very fast), MandelSquare (ff588, anims)
- Mandelbrot and Julia sets generators: MandelVroom (ff215), Fractals
- (ff371, also Newton-R and other sets)
- With different algorithmic approaches (shown): FastGro (ff188, DLA),
- IceFrac (ff303, DLA), DEM (ff303, DEM), CPM (ff303, CPM in 3-D), Frac-
- talLab (ff391, any equation)
- Iterated Function System generators (make ferns, etc): FracGen (ff188,
- uses "seeds"), FCS (ff465), IFSgen (ff554), IFSLab (ff696, "Collage
- Theorem")
- Unique fractal types: Cloud (ff216, cloud surfaces), Fractal (ff052, ter-
- rain), IMandelVroom (strange attractor contours?), Landscape (ff554,
- scenery), Scenery (ff155, scenery), Plasma (ff573, plasma clouds)
- Fractal generators (I do not know their features): PolyFractals (ff015),
- FFEX (ff549)
- Lyapunov fractals: Ftp /pub/aminet/new/lyapunovia.lha from ftp.luth.se.
- Commercial packages: Fractal Pro 5.0, Scenery Animator 2.0, Vista Profes-
- sional, Fractuality (reviewed in April '93 Amiga User International).
-
- Please inform me of any other programs you know of.
-
- Q2b: Where can I obtain fractal papers?
- A2b: There are several sites with fractal papers:
-
- There is an archive site for preprints and programs on nonlinear dynamics and
- related subjects at lyapunov.ucsd.edu [132.239.86.10]. There are also arti-
- cles on dynamics, including the IMS preprint series, available from
- math.sunysb.edu [129.49.31.57].
-
- A collection of short papers on fractal formulas, drawing methods, and
- transforms is available from ftp.coe.montana.edu in /pub/fractals.
-
- The site life.anu.edu.au [150.203.38.74] has a collection of fractal programs,
- papers, information related to complex systems, and gopher and World Wide Web
- connections. The ftp path is /pub/complex_systems; look in fractals, tutori-
- al, and anu92. The Word Wide Web access is "http://life.anu.edu.au/". The
- gopher path is:
- Name=BioInformatics gopher at ANU
- Host=life.anu.edu.au
- Type=1
- Port=70
- Path=1/complex_systems/fractals
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Fractal items
-
- Q3: Where can I get fractal T-shirts and posters?
- A3: One source is Art Matrix, P.O. box 880, Ithaca, New York, 14851, 1-800-
- PAX-DUTY. Another source is Media Magic; they sell many fractal posters,
- calendars, videos, software, t-shirts, ties, and a huge variety of books on
- fractals, chaos, graphics, etc. Media Magic is at PO Box 598 Nicasio, CA
- 94946, 415-662-2426. A third source is Ultimate Image; they sell fractal t-
- shirts, posters, gift cards, and stickers. Ultimate Image is at PO Box 7464,
- Nashua, NH 03060-7464.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Ftp questions
-
- Q4a: How does anonymous ftp work?
- A4a: Anoynmous ftp is a method of making files available to anyone on the In-
- ternet. In brief, if you are on a system with ftp (e.g. Unix), you type "ftp
- lyapunov.ucsd.edu", or whatever system you wish to access. You are prompted
- for your name and you reply "anonymous". You are prompted for your password
- and you reply with your email address. You then use "ls" to list the files,
- "cd" to change directories, "get" to get files, and "quit" to exit. For exam-
- ple, you could say "cd /pub", "ls", "get README", and "quit"; this would get
- you the file "README".
-
- Q4b: What if I can't use ftp to access files?
- A4b: If you don't have access to ftp because you are on a uucp/Fidonet/etc
- network there is an e-mail gateway at ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com that can retrieve
- the files for you. To get instructions on how to use the ftp gateway send a
- blank message to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com with one line containing the word
- 'help'.
-
- This is a sample message of how to retrieve xfractint from
- sprite.Berkeley.EDU:
- % mail ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
- Subject: <ignored>
- reply <yourname>@<yoursite>
- connect sprite.berkeley.edu anonymous
- dir /* note: you can give a pathname here to list */
- binary
- uuencode /* note: this command is optional and the default is btoa */
- get xfract200.shar.Z
- quit
-
- That would retrieve a directory of the archive, then xfract108.shar.Z. Note
- that the dir command is important to learn if the filename has changed. To
- receive xfract108.shar.Z, you must set the server to "binary" mode because the
- file is compressed. Compressed files are then either sent out uuencoded or
- btoa'd. So, you must obtain copies of the programs will receive. (Most Unix
- systems have uudecode and uncompress.) Ask your local computer guru for cla-
- rification on how to do this.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Archived pictures
-
- Q5: Where are fractal pictures archived?
- A5: Fractal images (GIFs, etc.) used to be posted to alt.fractals.pictures;
- this newsgroup has been replaced by alt.binaries.pictures.fractals. Pictures
- from 1990 and 1991 are available via anonymous ftp from csus.edu [130.86.90.1]
- in /pub/alt.fractals.pictures.
-
- Many Mandelbrot set images are available via anonymous ftp from ftp.ira.uka.de
- [129.13.10.93] in /pub/graphic/fractals.
-
- Fractal images including some recent alt.binaries.pictures.fractals images are
- archived at spanky.triumf.ca [128.189.128.27]. Note that spanky is a VMS sys-
- tem with a strange directory structure. To move into the FRACTALS.DIR sub-
- directory, for example, do "cd [.FRACTALS]", with square brackets and period.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Learning about fractals
-
- Q6: I want to learn about fractals. What should I read first?
- A6: There is a book list at the end. _Chaos_ is a good book to get a general
- overview and history. _Fractals Everywhere_ is a textbook on fractals that
- describes what fractals are and how to generate them, but it requires knowing
- intermediate analysis. _Chaos, Fractals, and Dynamics_ is also a good start.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: The Mandelbrot set
-
- Q7a: What is the Mandelbrot set?
- A7a: The Mandelbrot set is the set of all complex c such that iterating z ->
- z^2+c does not go to infinity (starting with z=0).
-
- Q7b: How is the Mandelbrot set actually computed?
- A7b: The basic algorithm is:
- For each pixel c, start with z=0. Repeat z=z^2+c up to N times, exiting if
- the magnitude of z gets large.
- If you finish the loop, the point is probably inside the Mandelbrot set. If
- you exit, the point is outside and can be colored according to how many
- iterating were completed. You can exit if |z|>2, since if z gets this big it
- will go to infinity. The maximum number of iterations, N, can be selected as
- desired, for instance 100. Larger N will give sharper detail but take longer.
-
- Q7c: Why do you start with z=0?
- A7c: Zero is the critical point of z^2+c, that is, a point where d/dz (z^2+c)
- = 0. If you replace z^2+c with a different function, the starting value will
- have to be modified. E.g. for z->z^2+z+c, the critical point is given by
- 2z+1=0, so start with z=-1/2. In some cases, there may be multiple critical
- values, so they all should be tested.
-
- Critical points are important because by a result of Fatou: every attracting
- cycle for a polynomial or rational function attracts at least one critical
- point. Thus, testing the critical point shows if there is any stable attrac-
- tive cycle. See also:
-
- [1] M. Frame and J. Robertson, A Generalized Mandelbrot Set and the Role of
- Critical Points, _Computers and Graphics, Vol. 16_ 16, 1 (1992), pp. 35-40.
-
- Note that you can precompute the first Mandelbrot iteration by starting with
- z=c instead of z=0, since 0^2+c=c.
-
- Q7d: What are the bounds of the Mandelbrot set? When does it diverge?
- A7d: The Mandelbrot set lies within |c|<=2. If |z| exceeds 2, the z sequence
- diverges. Proof: if |z|>2, then |z^2+c| >= |z^2|-|c| > 2|z|-|c|. If
- |z|>=|c|, then 2|z|-|c| > |z|. So, if |z|>2 and |z|>=c, |z^2+c|>|z|, so the
- sequence is increasing. (It takes a bit more work to prove it is unbounded
- and diverges.) Also, note that z1=c, so if |c|>2, the sequence diverges.
-
- Q7e: How can I speed up Mandelbrot set generation?
- A7e: See:
-
- 1. R. Rojas, A Tutorial on Efficient Computer Graphic Representations of the
- Mandelbrot Set, _Computers and Graphics_ 15, 1 (1991), pp. 91-100.
-
- Q7f: What is the area of the Mandelbrot set?
- A7f: Ewing and Schober computed an area estimate using 240,000 terms of the
- Laurent series. The result is 1.7274... The behavior of the approximations
- suggests that the limit is between 1.66 and 1.71. However, the estimates of
- the area using pixel counting, suggest that the area is around 1.52. The
- large gap between the pixel estimate 1.52 and the upper bound 1.72 may
- possibly be an indication that the boundary of the Mandelbrot set has positive
- area. However, recent work suggests that the sequence converges very slowly
- and the area is closer to 1.5 than to the upper bound. Reference:
-
- 1. J. H. Ewing and G. Schober, The Area of the Mandelbrot Set, _Numer. Math._
- 61 (1992), pp. 59-72.
-
- There is currently a project to measure the area via counting pixels on a very
- dense grid. Preliminary results show an area around 1.5066. Contact
- mrob@world.std.com for more information.
-
- Q7g: What can you say about the structure of the Mandelbrot set?
- A7g: Most of what you could want to know is in Branner's article in _Chaos and
- Fractals: The Mathematics Behind the Computer Graphics_.
-
- Note that the Mandelbrot set in general is _not_ self-similar; the tiny copies
- of the Mandelbrot set are all slightly different, mainly because of the thin
- threads connecting them to the main body of the Mandelbrot set. However, the
- Mandelbrot set is quasi-self-similar. The Mandelbrot set is self-similar
- under magnification in neighborhoods of Misiurewicz points, however (e.g.
- -.1011+.9563i). The Mandelbrot set is conjectured to be self-similar around
- generalized Feigenbaum points (e.g. -1.401155 or -.1528+1.0397i), in the
- sense of converging to a limit set. References:
-
- 1. T. Lei, Similarity between the Mandelbrot set and Julia Sets,
- _Communications in Mathematical Physics_ 134 (1990), pp. 587-617.
-
- 2. J. Milnor, Self-Similarity and Hairiness in the Mandelbrot Set, in
- _Computers in Geometry and Topology_, M. Tangora (editor), Dekker, New York,
- pp. 211-257.
-
- The boundary of the Mandelbrot set and the Julia set of a generic c in M have
- Hausdorff dimension 2 and have topological dimension 1. The proof is based on
- the study of the bifurcation of parabolic periodic points. (Since the
- boundary has empty interior, the topological dimension is less than 2, and
- thus is 1.) Reference:
-
- 1. M. Shishikura, The Hausdorff Dimension of the Boundary of the Mandelbrot
- Set and Julia Sets, The paper is available from anonymous ftp to
- math.sunysb.edu [129.49.18.1] in /preprints/ims91-7.ps.Z.
-
- The "external angles" of the Mandelbrot set (see Douady and Hubbard or brief
- sketch in "Beauty of Fractals") induce a Fibonacci partition onto it.
-
- Q7h: Is the Mandelbrot set connected?
- A7h: The Mandelbrot set is simply connected. This follows from a theorem of
- Douady and Hubbard that there is a conformal isomorphism from the complement
- of the Mandelbrot set to the complement of the unit disk. (In other words,
- all equipotential curves are simple closed curves.) It is conjectured that the
- Mandelbrot set is locally connected, and thus pathwise connected, but this is
- currently unproved.
-
- Connectedness definitions:
-
- Connected: X is connected if there are no proper closed subsets A and B of X
- such that A union B = X, but A intersect B is empty. I.e. X is connected if
- it is a single piece.
-
- Simply connected: X is simply connected if it is connected and every closed
- curve in X can be deformed in X to some constant closed curve. I.e. X is
- simply connected if it has no holes.
-
- Locally connected: X is locally connected if for every point p in X, for every
- open set U containing p, there is an open set V containing p and contained in
- the connected component of p in U. I.e. X is locally connected if every
- connected component of every open subset is open in X.
-
- Arcwise (or path) connected: X is arcwise connected if every two points in X
- are joined by an arc in X.
-
- (The definitions are from _Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mathematics_.)
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Julia sets
-
- Q8a: What is the difference between the Mandelbrot set and a Julia set?
- A8a: The Mandelbrot set iterates z^2+c with z starting at 0 and varying c.
- The Julia set iterates z^2+c for fixed c and varying starting z values. That
- is, the Mandelbrot set is in parameter space (c-plane) while the Julia set is
- in dynamical or variable space (z-plane).
-
- Q8b: What is the connection between the Mandelbrot set and Julia sets?
- A8b: Each point c in the Mandelbrot set specifies the geometric structure of
- the corresponding Julia set. If c is in the Mandelbrot set, the Julia set
- will be connected. If c is not in the Mandelbrot set, the Julia set will be a
- Cantor dust.
-
- Q8c: How is a Julia set actually computed?
- A8c: The Julia set can be computed by iteration similar to the Mandelbrot
- computation. Alternatively, points on the boundary of the Julia set can be
- computed quickly by using inverse iterations. This technique is particularly
- useful when the Julia set is a Cantor Set.
-
- Q8d: What are some Julia set facts?
- A8d: The Julia set of any rational map of degree greater than one is perfect
- (hence in particular uncountable and nonempty), completely invariant, equal to
- the Julia set of any iterate of the function, and also is the boundary of the
- basin of attraction of every attractor for the map.
-
- Julia set references:
-
- 1. A. F. Beardon, _Iteration of Rational Functions : Complex Analytic
- Dynamical Systems_, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1991.
-
- 2. P. Blanchard, Complex Analytic Dynamics on the Riemann Sphere, _Bull. of
- the Amer. Math. Soc_ 11, 1 (July 1984), pp. 85-141. This article is a
- detailed discussion of the mathematics of iterated complex functions. It
- covers most things about Julia sets of rational polynomial functions.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Complex arithmetic and quaternion arithmetic
-
- Q9a: How does complex arithmetic work?
- A9a: It works mostly like regular algebra with a couple additional formulas:
- (note: a,b are reals, x,y are complex, i is the square root of -1)
- Powers of i: i^2 = -1
- Addition: (a+i*b)+(c+i*d) = (a+c)+i*(b+d)
- Multiplication: (a+i*b)*(c+i*d) = a*c-b*d + i*(a*d+b*c)
- Division: (a+i*b)/(c+i*d) = (a+i*b)*(c-i*d)/(c^2+d^2)
- Exponentiation: exp(a+i*b) = exp(a)(cos(b)+i*sin(b))
- Sine: sin(x) = (exp(i*x)-exp(-i*x))/(2*i)
- Cosine: cos(x) = (exp(i*x)+exp(-i*x)/2
- Magnitude: |a+i*b| = sqrt(a^2+b^2)
- Log: log(a+i*b) = log(|a+i*b|)+i*arctan(b/a) (Note: log is multivalued.)
- Complex powers: x^y = exp(y*log(x))
- DeMoivre's theorem: x^a = r^a * [cos(a*theta) + i * sin(a*theta)]
- More details can be found in any complex analysis book.
-
- Q9b: How does quaternion arithmetic work?
- A9b: Quaternions have 4 components (a+ib+jc+kd) compared to the two of complex
- numbers. Operations such as addition and multiplication can be performed on
- quaternions, but multiplication is not commutative. Quaternions satisfy the
- rules i^2=j^2=k^2=-1, ij=-ji=k, jk=-kj=i, ki=-ik=j.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Feigenbaum's constant
-
- Q10: What is Feigenbaum's constant?
- A10: In a period doubling cascade, consider the parameter values where
- period-doubling events occur. The limit of the ratio of distances between
- consecutive doubling values is Feigenbaum's constant. It has the value
- 4.669201660910...
-
- References:
-
- 1. K. Briggs, How to calculate the Feigenbaum constants on your PC, _Aust.
- Math. Soc. Gazette_ 16 (1989), p. 89.
-
- 2. K. Briggs, A precise calculation of the Feigenbaum constants, _Mathematics
- of Computation_ 57 (1991), pp. 435-439.
-
- 3. K. Briggs, G. R. W. Quispel and C. Thompson, Feigenvalues for Mandelsets,
- _J. Phys._ A24 (1991), pp. 3363-3368.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Iterated function systems
-
- Q11a: What is an iterated function system (IFS)?
- A11a: If a fractal is self-similar, you can specify various mappings that map
- the whole onto the parts. By taking a point and repeatedly applying these
- mappings you end up with a collection of points on the fractal. In other
- words, instead of a single mapping x -> F(x), there is a collection of
- (usually linear) mappings, and random selection chooses which mapping is used.
-
- Iterated function systems can be used to make things such as fractal ferns and
- trees and are also used in fractal image compression. _Fractals Everywhere_
- by Barnsley is mostly about iterated function systems.
-
- Q11b: What is the state of fractal compression?
- A11b: (Much of this information comes from the comp.compression FAQ, available
- from FAQ archive sites as compression-faq. That FAQ has more information and
- a long list of references. The state of fractal compression seems to be quite
- controversial, with some people claiming it doesn't work well, and others
- claiming it works wonderfully.)
-
- Tal Kubo <kubo@zariski.harvard.edu> states:
-
- According to Barnsley's book 'Fractals Everywhere', this method is based on a
- measure of deviation between a given image and its approximation by an IFS
- code. The Collage Theorem states that there is a convergent process to
- minimize this deviation. Unfortunately, according to an article Barnsley
- wrote for BYTE a few years ago, this convergence was rather slow, about 100
- hours on a Cray, unless assisted by a person.
-
- Barnsley et al are not divulging any technical information beyond the meager
- bit in 'Fractals Everywhere'. The book explains the idea of IFS codes at
- length, but is vague about the application of the Collage theorem to specific
- compression problems.
-
- There is reason to believe that Barnsley's company has *no algorithm* which
- takes a given reasonable image and achieves the compression ratios initially
- claimed for their fractal methods. The 1000-to-1 compression advertised was
- achieved only for a 'rigged' class of images, with human assistance. The best
- unaided performance I've heard of is good lossy compression of about 80-1.
-
- But Yuval Fisher <fisher@inls1.ucsd.edu> disagrees:
-
- Their performance has improved dramatically beyond what they were talking
- about in BYTE a few years ago. Human assistance to the compression is no
- longer needed and the compression time is reasonable, although the more time
- and compute power you throw at the compression, the smaller the resulting file
- for the same level of quality.
-
- Kevin Ring provided information on Iterated Systems, Inc.'s products. They
- have a Windows viewer, compressor, and magnifier program, as well as a
- hardware assist board. They claim compression ratios such as 80:1, 154:1,
- 614:1, and 2546:1.
-
- An introductory paper is:
-
- 1. A. E. Jacquin, Image Coding Based on a Fractal Theory of Iterated
- Contractive Image Transformation, _IEEE Transactions on Image Processing_,
- January 1992.
-
- A fractal decompression demo program is available by anonymous ftp to
- lyapunov.ucsd.edu [132.239.86.10] in /pub/inls-ucsd/fractal-2.0.
-
- Another MS-DOS compression demonstration program is available by anonymous ftp
- to lyapunov.ucsd.edu in /pub/young-fractal.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Chaotic demonstrations
-
- Q12a: How can you make a chaotic oscillator?
- A12a: Two references are:
-
- 1. T. S. Parker and L. O. Chua, Chaos: a tutorial for engineers, _Proceedings
- IEEE_ 75 (1987), pp. 982-1008.
-
- 2. _New Scientist_, June 30, 1990, p. 37.
-
- Q12b: What are laboratory demonstrations of chaos?
- A12b: Two references are:
-
- 1. K. Briggs, Simple Experiments in Chaotic Dynamics, _American Journal of
- Physics_ 55, 12 (Dec 1987), pp. 1083-1089.
-
- 2. J. L. Snider, Simple Demonstration of Coupled Oscillations, _American
- Journal of Physics_ 56, 3 (Mar 1988), p. 200.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Fractal music
-
- Q13: What is some information on fractal music?
- A13: Some references, many from an unpublished article by Stephanie Mason,
- are:
-
- 1. C. Dodge, A Musical Fractal, _Computer Music Journal_ 12, 13 (Fall 1988),
- p. 10.
-
- 2. K. J. Hsu and A. Hsu, Fractal Geometry of Music, _Proceedings of the
- National Academy of Science, USA_ 87 (1990), pp. 938-941.
-
- 3. K. J. Hsu and A. Hsu, Self-similatrity of the '1/f noise' called music.,
- _Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA_ 88 (1991), pp. 3507-3509.
-
- 4. C. Pickover, _Mazes for the Mind: Computers and the Unexpected_, St.
- Martin's Press, New York, 1992.
-
- 5. P. Prusinkiewicz, Score Generation with L-Systems, _International Computer
- Music Conference 86 Proceedings_, 1986, pp. 455-457.
-
- 6. P. Prusinkiewicz and A. Lindenmayer, _The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants_,
- Springer-Verlag, NY, 1990. ISBN 0-387-97297-8. A very good book L-systems,
- which can be used to model plants in a VERY realistic fashion (the book
- contains a lot of pictures).
-
- 7. P. Przemyslaw and J. Hanan, _Lindenmayer Systems, Fractals, and Plants._,
- Springer-Verlag, New York, 1989.
-
- 8. _Byte_ 11, 6 (June 1986), pp. 185-196.
-
- Basically, L-Systems create music from space filling curves by interpreting
- the curves lateral and vertical motion as pitch and duration. L-System curves
- are recursively defined, and hence show fractal similarity.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Fractal mountains
-
- Q14: How are fractal mountains generated?
- A14: Usually by a method such as taking a triangle, dividing it into 3
- subtriangles, and perturbing the center point. This process is then repeated
- on the subtriangles. This results in a 2-d table of heights, which can then
- be rendered as a 3-d image. One reference is:
-
- 1. M. Ausloos, _Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A_ 400 (1985), pp. 331-350.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Plasma clouds
-
- Q15: What are plasma clouds?
- A15: They are a fractint fractal and are similar to fractal mountains.
- Instead of a 2-d table of heights, the result is a 2-d table of intensities.
- They are formed by repeatedly subdividing squares.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Lyapunov fractals
-
- Q16a: Where are the popular periodically-forced Lyapunov fractals described?
- A16a: See:
-
- 1. A. K. Dewdney, Leaping into Lyapunov Space, _Scientific American_, Sept.
- 1991, pp. 178-180.
-
- 2. M. Markus and B. Hess, Lyapunov Exponents of the Logistic Map with
- Periodic Forcing, _Computers and Graphics_ 13, 4 (1989), pp. 553-558.
-
- 3. M. Markus, Chaos in Maps with Continuous and Discontinuous Maxima,
- _Computers in Physics_, Sep/Oct 1990, pp. 481-493.
-
- Q16b: What are Lyapunov exponents?
- A16b:
-
- Lyapunov exponents quantify the amount of linear stability or instability of
- an attractor, or an asymptotically long orbit of a dynamical system. There
- are as many lyapunov exponents as there are dimensions in the state space of
- the system, but the largest is usually the most important.
-
- Given two initial conditions for a chaotic system, a and b, which are close
- together, the average values obtained in successive iterations for a and b
- will differ by an exponentially increasing amount. In other words, the two
- sets of numbers drift apart exponentially. If this is written e^(n*(lambda))
- for n iterations, then e^(lambda) is the factor by which the distance between
- closely related points becomes stretched or contracted in one iteration.
- Lambda is the Lyapunov exponent. At least one Lyapunov exponent must be
- positive in a chaotic system. A simple derivation is available in:
-
- 1. H. G. Schuster, _Deterministic Chaos: An Introduction_, Physics Verlag,
- 1984.
-
- Q16c: How can Lyapunov exponents be calculated?
- A16c: For the common periodic forcing pictures, the lyapunov exponent is:
-
- lambda = limit as N->infinity of 1/N times sum from n=1 to N of log2(abs(dx
- sub n+1 over dx sub n))
-
- In other words, at each point in the sequence, the derivative of the iterated
- equation is evaluated. The Lyapunov exponent is the average value of the log
- of the derivative. If the value is negative, the iteration is stable. Note
- that summing the logs corresponds to multiplying the derivatives; if the
- product of the derivatives has magnitude < 1, points will get pulled closer
- together as they go through the iteration.
-
- MS-DOS and Unix programs for estimating Lyapunov exponents from short time
- series are available from lyapunov.ucsd.edu in /pub/ncsu.
-
- Computing Lyapunov exponents in general is more difficult. Some references
- are:
-
- 1. H. D. I. Abarbanel, R. Brown and M. B. Kennel, Lyapunov Exponents in
- Chaotic Systems: Their importance and their evaluation using observed data,
- _International Journal of Modern Physics B_ 56, 9 (1991), pp. 1347-1375.
-
- 2. A. K. Dewdney, Leaping into Lyapunov Space, _Scientific American_, Sept.
- 1991, pp. 178-180.
-
- 3. M. Frank and T. Stenges, _Journal of Economic Surveys_ 2 (1988), pp. 103-
- 133.
-
- 4. T. S. Parker and L. O. Chua, _Practical Numerical Algorithms for Chaotic
- Systems_, Springer Verlag, 1989.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Logistic equation
-
- Q17: What is the logistic equation?
- A17: It models animal populations. The equation is x -> c*x*(1-x), where x is
- the population (between 0 and 1) and c is a growth constant. Iteration of
- this equation yields the period doubling route to chaos. For c between 1 and
- 3, the population will settle to a fixed value. For larger c, the population
- will oscillate between two values, then four values, eight, sixteen, etc. For
- still larger c (between 3.57 and 4), the population behavior is chaotic (for
- most c values). See "An Introduction to Chaotic Dynamical Systems" for more
- information.)
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Chaos
-
- Q18: What is chaos?
- A18: An attractor is chaotic if at least one of its Lyapunov exponents is
- positive. Chaos results from the existence of a chaotic attractor.
-
- Chaos is the recurrent behavior of a deterministic dynamical system in which
- the phase-space divergence of nearby trajectories at an exponential rate
- results in a limited predictability horizon.
-
- In chaotic iterated systems of the form x_{i+1}=f(x_i), the result after
- iteration is extremely sensitive to the initial value such that
- f^n(x_0+(epsilon)) is nowhere near f^n(x_0).
-
- Chaos results from our inability to predict the future behavior of a
- deterministic system from initial conditions because of its great sensitivity
- to initial conditions.
-
- Chaos is apparently unpredictable behavior arising in a deterministic system.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Nonlinearity
-
- Q19: What is nonlinearity? What are nonlinear equations?
- A19: Nonlinear maps fail to satisfy the condition that f(ax+by)=af(x)+bf(y)
- where x and y are vectors, and a and b are scalars. e.g. f(x)=ax is linear.
- f(x)=x^2 is nonlinear. Nonlinearity is a map or term that is not linear.
-
- A nonlinear system gives an output which is not proportional to the
- corresponding input. Nonlinear dynamical systems possess nonlinear dynamical
- laws, which are functions of the system's state variables.
-
- In linear systems, dy/dx is a constant, while in nonlinear systems dy/dx=some
- nonconstant function of x.
-
- Nonlinear equations fail to exhibit linear superimposability. Nonlinear
- equations can be categorized by differentiability, discontinuity, and "memory"
- (e.g. hysteresis in an electric circuit), etc. This can be important to some
- types of nonlinear analysis such as the Popov hyperstability criterion.
-
- Nonlinearity References:
-
- 1. W. A. Brock and E. G. Baek, Some Theory of Statistical Inference for
- Nonlinear Science, _Review of Economic Studies_ 58, 4 (1991), pp. 697-716.
-
- 2. J. Guckenheimer and P. Holmes, _Nonlinear Oscillations Dynamical Systems
- and Bifurcations of Vector Fields_, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1983.
-
- 3. D. Zelinsky, _A First Course in Linear Algebra_, Academic Press, 1973.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: What is a fractal?
-
- Q20: What is a fractal? What are some examples of fractals?
- A20: 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. (A definition from B. Mandelbrot)
-
- A fractal is a set of points whose fractal (Hausdorff) dimension exceeds its
- topological dimension.
-
- Examples of fractals: Sierpinski triangle, Koch snowflake, Peano curve,
- Mandelbrot set.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Fractal dimension
-
- Q21a: What is fractal dimension? How is it calculated?
- A21a: A common type of fractal dimension is the Hausdorff-Besikovich
- Dimension.
-
- Roughly, fractal dimension can be calculated by taking the limit of the
- quotient of the log change in object size and the log change in measurement
- scale, as the measurement scale approaches zero. The differences come in what
- is exactly meant by "object size" and what is meant by "measurement scale" and
- how to get an average number out of many different parts of a geometrical
- object. Fractal dimensions quantify the static *geometry* of an object.
-
- For example, consider a straight line. Now blow up the line by a factor of
- two. The line is now twice as long as before. Log 2 / Log 2 = 1,
- corresponding to dimension 1. Consider a square. Now blow up the square by a
- factor of two. The square is now 4 times as large as before (i.e. 4 original
- squares can be placed on the original square). Log 4 / log 2 = 2,
- corresponding to dimension 2 for the square. Consider a snowflake curve
- formed by repeatedly replacing ___ with _/\_, where each of the 4 new lines is
- 1/3 the length of the old line. Blowing up the snowflake curve by a factor of
- 3 results in a snowflake curve 4 times as large (one of the old snowflake
- curves can be placed on each of the 4 segments _/\_). Log 4 / log 3 =
- 1.261... Since the dimension 1.261 is larger than the dimension 1 of the
- lines making up the curve, the snowflake curve is a fractal.
-
- Fractal dimension references:
-
- 1. J. P. Eckmann and D. Ruelle, _Reviews of Modern Physics_ 57, 3 (1985), pp.
- 617-656.
-
- 2. K. J. Falconer, _The Geometry of Fractal Sets_, Cambridge Univ. Press,
- 1985.
-
- 3. T. S. Parker and L. O. Chua, _Practical Numerical Algorithms for Chaotic
- Systems_, Springer Verlag, 1989.
-
- 4. H. Peitgen and D. Saupe, eds., _The Science of Fractal Images_, Springer-
- Verlag Inc., New York, 1988. ISBN 0-387-96608-0. This book contains many
- color and black and white photographs, high level math, and several
- pseudocoded algorithms.
-
- 5. G. Procaccia, _Physica D_ 9 (1983), pp. 189-208.
-
- 6. J. Theiler, _Physical Review A_ 41 (1990), pp. 3038-3051.
-
- References on how to estimate fractal dimension:
-
- 1. E. Peters, _Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets_, New York, 1991. ISBN
- 0-471-53372-6 Discusses methods of computing fractal dimension. Includes
- several short programs for nonlinear analysis.
-
- 2. J. Theiler, Estimating Fractal Dimension, _Journal of the Optical Society
- of America A-Optics and Image Science_ 7, 6 (June 1990), pp. 1055-1073.
-
- Fractal dimension software:
-
- Fractal Dimension Calculator is a Macintosh program which uses the box-
- counting method to compute the fractal dimension of planar graphical objects.
- It is available by anonymous ftp from wuarchive.wustl.edu The path is:
- /mirrors4/architec/Fractals/FracDim.sit.hqx.
-
- FD3: estimates capacity, information, and correlation dimension from a list of
- points. It computes log cell sizes, counts, log counts, log of Shannon
- statistics based on counts, log of correlations based on counts, two-point
- estimates of the dimensions at all scales examined, and over-all least-square
- estimates of the dimensions. Ftp from: lyapunov.ucsd.edu [132.239.86.10] in
- pub/cal-state-stan. Also look in pub/inls-ucsd for an enhanced Grassberger-
- Procaccia algorithm for correlation dimension. A MS-DOS version of FP3 is
- available by request to gentry@altair.csustan.edu.
-
- Q21b: What is topological dimension?
- A21b: Topological dimension is the "normal" idea of dimension; a point has
- topological dimension 0, a line has topological dimension 1, a surface has
- topological dimension 2, etc.
-
- For a rigorous definition:
-
- A set has topological dimension 0 if every point has arbitrarily small
- neighborhoods whose boundaries do not intersect the set.
-
- A set S has topological dimension k if each point in S has arbitrarily small
- neighborhoods whose boundaries meet S in a set of dimension k-1, and k is the
- least nonnegative integer for which this holds.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Strange attractors
-
- Q22: What is a strange attractor?
- A22: A strange attractor is the limit set of a chaotic trajectory.
-
- A strange attractor is an indecomposable closed invariant set that "attracts"
- the points about it which contains a transversal homoclinic orbit. (This
- orbit accounts for the strangeness.)
-
- A strange attractor is a phase space locus of a bounded long-term dynamical
- behavior which has a nonzero probability of being observed - its basin of
- attraction has positive measure - and contains not a smooth manifold
- structure, but rather a self-similar or fractal structure. Note: While all
- chaotic attractors are strange, not all strange attractors are chaotic.
- Reference:
-
- 1. Grebogi, et al., Strange Attractors that are not Chaotic, _Physica D_ 13
- (1984), pp. 261-268.
-
- Consider a volume in phase space defined by all the initial conditions a
- system may have. For a dissipative system, this volume will shrink as the
- system evolves in time (Liouville's Theorem). If the system is sensitive to
- initial conditions, the trajectories of the points defining initial conditions
- will move apart in some directions, closer in others, but there will be a net
- shrinkage in volume. Ultimately, all points will lie along a fine line of
- zero volume. This is the strange attractor. All initial points in phase
- space which ultimately land on the attractor form a Basin of Attraction.
- Note: A strange attractor results if a system is sensitive to initial
- conditions and is not conservative.
-
- A strange attractor is the surfaces which the state of a chaotic system will
- be confined to, given time for transients to die out.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: How can I take photos of fractals?
-
- Q23: How can I take photos of fractals?
- A23: Noel Giffin gets good results with the following setup:
- Use 100 asa Kodak gold for prints or 64 asa for slides.
- Use a long lens (100mm) to flatten out the field of view and minimize screen
- curvature. Use f4 stop.
- Shutter speed must be longer than frame rate to get a complete image; 1/4
- seconds works well.
- Use a tripod and cable release or timer to get a stable picture. The room
- should be completely blackened, with no light, to prevent glare and to prevent
- the monitor from showing up in the picture.
-
- You can also obtain high quality images by sending your targa or gif images to
- a commercial graphics imaging shop. They can provide much higher resolution
- images. Prices are about $10 for a 35mm slide or negative and about $50 for a
- high quality 4x5 negative. to
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: How can I join the BITNET fractal discussion?
-
- Q24: How can I join the BITNET fractal discussion?
- A24: There is a fractal discussion on BITNET that uses an automatic mail
- server that sends mail to a distribution list. (On some systems, the contents
- of FRAC-L appear in the Usenet newsgroup bit.listserv.frac-l.) To join the
- mailing list, send a message to listserv@gitvm1.gatech.edu with the following
- as text:
- SUBSCRIBE FRAC-L John Doe (where John Doe is replaced by your name)
- To unsubscribe, send the message:
- UNSUBSCRIBE FRAC-L
- If that doesn't unsubscribe you, you can try:
- SIGNOFF FRAC-L (GLOBAL
- If that doesn't work or you have other problems, you can contact the list
- administrator. You can obtain their name by sending the message:
- REVIEW FRAC-L
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: 3-D fractals
-
- Q25: How can 3-D fractals be generated?
- A25: A common source for 3-D fractals is to compute Julia sets with
- quaternions instead of complex numbers. The resulting Julia set is four
- dimensional. By taking a slice through the 4-D Julia set (e.g. by fixing one
- of the coordinates), a 3-D object is obtained. This object can then be
- displayed using computer graphics techniques such as ray tracing.
-
- The papers to read on this are:
-
- 1. J. Hart, D. Sandin and L. Kauffman, Ray Tracing Deterministic 3-D
- Fractals, _SIGGRAPH_, 1989, pp. 289-296.
-
- 2. A. Norton, Generation and Display of Geometric Fractals in 3-D,
- _SIGGRAPH_, 1982, pp. 61-67.
-
- 3. A. Norton, Julia Sets in the Quaternions, _Computers and Graphics,_ 13, 2
- (1989), pp. 267-278. Two papers on cubic polynomials, which can be used to
- generate 4-D fractals:
-
- 1. B. Branner and J. Hubbard, The iteration of cubic polynomials, part I.,
- _Acta Math_ 66 (1988), pp. 143-206.
-
- 2. J. Milnor, Remarks on iterated cubic maps, Ftp from math.sunysb.edu in
- /preprints/ims90-6.ps.Z. Published in 1991 SIGGRAPH Course Notes #14: Fractal
- Modeling in 3D Computer Graphics and Imaging.
-
- Instead of quaternions, you can of course use other functions. For instance,
- you could use a map with more than one parameter, which would generate a
- higher-dimensional fractal.
-
- Another way of generating 3-D fractals is to use 3-D iterated function systems
- (IFS). These are analogous to 2-D IFS, except they generate points in a 3-D
- space.
-
- A third way of generating 3-D fractals is to take a 2-D fractal such as the
- Mandelbrot set, and convert the pixel values to heights to generate a 3-D
- "Mandelbrot mountain". This 3-D object can then be rendered with normal
- computer graphics techniques.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: What are some general references?
-
- Q26: What are some general references on fractals and chaos?
- A26: Some references are:
-
- 1. M. Barnsley, _Fractals Everywhere_, Academic Press Inc., 1988. ISBN 0-
- 12-079062-9. This is an excellent text book on fractals. This is probably
- the best book for learning about the math underpinning fractals. It is also a
- good source for new fractal types.
-
- 2. M. Barnsley and L. Hurd, _Fractal Image Compression_, Jones and Bartlett,
- December, 1992. ISBN 0-86720-457-5. This book explores the science of the
- fractal transform in depth. The authors begin with a foundation in information
- theory and present the technical background for fractal image compression. In
- so doing, they explain the detailed workings of the fractal transform.
- Algorithms are illustrated using source code in C.
-
- 3. M. Barnsley and L. Anson, _The Fractal Transform_, Jones and Bartlett,
- April, 1993. ISBN 0-86720-218-1. This book is a sequel to _Fractals
- Everywhere_. Without assuming a great deal of technical knowledge, the authors
- explain the workings of the Fractal Transform (tm). The Fractal Transform is
- the compression tool for storing high-quality images in a minimal amount of
- space on a computer. Barnsley uses examples and algorithms to explain how to
- transform a stored pixel image into its fractal representation.
-
- 4. R. Devaney and L. Keen, eds., _Chaos and Fractals: The Mathematics Behind
- the Computer Graphics_, American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 1989.
- This book contains detailed mathematical descriptions of chaos, the Mandelbrot
- set, etc.
-
- 5. R. L. Devaney, _An Introduction to Chaotic Dynamical Systems_, Addison-
- Wesley, 1989. ISBN 0-201-13046-7. This book introduces many of the basic
- concepts of modern dynamical systems theory and leads the reader to the point
- of current research in several areas. It goes into great detail on the exact
- structure of the logistic equation and other 1-D maps. The book is fairly
- mathematical using calculus and topology.
-
- 6. R. L. Devaney, _Chaos, Fractals, and Dynamics_, Addison-Wesley, 1990.
- ISBN 0-201-23288-X. This is a very readable book. It introduces chaos
- fractals and dynamics using a combination of hands-on computer experimentation
- and precalculus math. Numerous full-color and black and white images convey
- the beauty of these mathematical ideas.
-
- 7. R. Devaney, _A First Course in Chaotic Dynamical Systems, Theory and
- Experiment_, Addison Wesley, 1992. A nice undergraduate introduction to chaos
- and fractals.
-
- 8. G. A. Edgar, _Measure Topology and Fractal Geometry_, Springer- Verlag
- Inc., 1990. ISBN 0-387-97272-2. This book provides the math necessary for
- the study of fractal geometry. It includes the background material on metric
- topology and measure theory and also covers topological and fractal dimension,
- including the Hausdorff dimension.
-
- 9. K. Falconer, _Fractal Geometry: Mathematical Foundations and
- Applications_, Wiley, New York, 1990.
-
- 10. J. Feder, _Fractals_, Plenum Press, New York, 1988. This book is
- recommended as an introduction. It introduces fractals from geometrical
- ideas, covers a wide variety of topics, and covers things such as time series
- and R/S analysis that aren't usually considered.
-
- 11. J. Gleick, _Chaos: Making a New Science_, Penguin, New York, 1987.
-
- 12. B. Hao, ed., _Chaos_, World Scientific, Singapore, 1984. This is an
- excellent collection of papers on chaos containing some of the most
- significant reports on chaos such as ``Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow'' by
- E.N.Lorenz.
-
- 13. S. Levy, _Artificial life : the quest for a new creation_, Pantheon
- Books, New York, 1992. This book takes off where Gleick left off. It looks
- at many of the same people and what they are doing post-Gleick.
-
- 14. B. Mandelbrot, _The Fractal Geometry of Nature_, W. H. FreeMan and Co.,
- New York. ISBN 0-7167-1186-9. In this book Mandelbrot attempts to show that
- reality is fractal-like. He also has pictures of many different fractals.
-
- 15. H. O. Peitgen and P. H. Richter, _The Beauty of Fractals_, Springer-
- Verlag Inc., New York, 1986. ISBN 0-387-15851-0. Lots of neat pictures.
- There is also an appendix giving the coordinates and constants for the color
- plates and many of the other pictures.
-
- 16. H. Peitgen and D. Saupe, eds., _The Science of Fractal Images_,
- Springer-Verlag Inc., New York, 1988. ISBN 0-387-96608-0. This book contains
- many color and black and white photographs, high level math, and several
- pseudocoded algorithms.
-
- 17. H. Peitgen, H. Juergens and D. Saupe, _Fractals for the Classroom_,
- Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992. These two volumes are aimed at advanced
- secondary school students (but are appropriate for others too), have lots of
- examples, explain the math well, and give BASIC programs.
-
- 18. H. Peitgen, H. Juergens and D. Saupe, _Chaos and Fractals: New Frontiers
- of Science_, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992.
-
- 19. C. Pickover, _Computers, Pattern, Chaos, and Beauty: Graphics from an
- Unseen World_, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1990. This book contains a bunch
- of interesting explorations of different fractals.
-
- 20. J. Pritchard, _The Chaos Cookbook: A Practical Programming Guide_,
- Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1992. ISBN 0-7506-0304-6. It contains type-
- in-and-go listings in BASIC and Pascal. It also eases you into some of the
- mathematics of fractals and chaos in the context of graphical experimentation.
- So it's more than just a type-and-see-pictures book, but rather a lab
- tutorial, especially good for those with a weak or rusty (or even non-
- existent) calculus background.
-
- 21. P. Prusinkiewicz and A. Lindenmayer, _The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants_,
- Springer-Verlag, NY, 1990. ISBN 0-387-97297-8. A very good book L-systems,
- which can be used to model plants in a VERY realistic fashion (the book
- contains a lot of pictures).
-
- 22. M. Schroeder, _Fractals, Chaos, and Power Laws: Minutes from an Infinite
- Paradise_, W. H. Freeman, New York, 1991. This book contains a clearly
- written explanation of fractal geometry with lots of puns and word play.
-
- 23. D. Stein, ed., _Proceedings of the Santa Fe Institute's Complex Systems
- Summer School_, Addison-Wesley, Redwood City, CA, 1988. See esp. the first
- article by David Campbell: ``Introduction to nonlinear phenomena''.
-
- 24. R. Stevens, _Fractal Programming in C_, M&T Publishing, 1989 ISBN 1-
- 55851-038-9. This is a good book for a beginner who wants to write a fractal
- program. Half the book is on fractal curves like the Hilbert curve and the
- von Koch snow flake. The other half covers the Mandelbrot, Julia, Newton, and
- IFS fractals.
-
- 25. I. Stewart, _Does God Play Dice?: the Mathematics of Chaos_, B.
- Blackwell, New York, 1989.
-
- 26. T. Wegner and M. Peterson, _Fractal Creations_, The Waite Group, 1991.
- This is the book describing the Fractint program.
-
- Journals:
- "Chaos and Graphics" section in the quarterly journal _Computers and
- Graphics_. This contains recent work in fractals from the graphics
- perspective, and usually contains several exciting new ideas.
- "Mathematical Recreations" section by A. K. Dewdney in _Scientific American_.
- Algorithms - The Personal Computer Newsletter. P.O. Box 29237, Westmount
- Postal Outlet, 785 Wonderland Road S., London, Ontario, Canada, N6K 1M6.
- Mandala
- Fractal Report. Reeves Telecommunication Labs. West Towan House, Pothtowan,
- TRURO, Cornwall TR4 8AX, U.K.
- Amygdala. P.O. Box 219 San Cristobal, NM 87564-0219. This is a newsletter
- about the Mandelbrot Set and other fractals. A trial subscription for 6
- issues is $15 to: Amygdala Box 219 / San Cristobal, NM 87564. Contact Rollo
- Silver (rsilver@lanl.gov) for more information.
- FRAC'Cetera. This is a gazetteer of the world of fractals and related areas,
- supplied in IBM PC format. For more information, contact: Jon Horner, Editor
- FRAC'Cetera, Le Mont Ardaine, Rue des Ardains, St. Peters, Guernsey, Channel
- Islands, United Kingdom.
- Fractals, An interdisciplinary Journal On The Complex Geometry of Nature.
- This is a new journal published by World Scientific. B.B Mandelbrot is the
- Honorary Editor and T. Vicsek, M.F. Shlesinger, M.M Matsushita are the
- Managing Editors). The aim of this first international journal on fractals is
- to bring together the most recent developments in the research of fractals so
- that a fruitful interaction of the various approaches and scientific views on
- the complex spatial and temporal behavior could take place. Subscription
- rates are 176 US$ for Institutions and Libraries and 88 US$ for Individuals
- and Institutions in developing countries.
-
- Articles:
-
- 1. P. Blanchard, Complex Analytic Dynamics on the Riemann Sphere, _Bull. of
- the Amer. Math. Soc_ 11, 1 (July 1984), pp. 85-141. This article is a
- detailed discussion of the mathematics of iterated complex functions. It
- covers most things about Julia sets of rational polynomial functions.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Subject: Acknowledgements
-
- For their help with this file, thanks go to:
- Alex Antunes, Steve Bondeson, Erik Boman, Jacques Carette, John Corbit,
- Abhijit Deshmukh, Robert Drake, Detlev Droege, Gerald Edgar, Gordon
- Erlebacher, Duncan Foster, David Fowler, Murray Frank, Jean-loup Gailly, Noel
- Giffin, Earl Glynn, Lamont Granquist, Luis Hernandez-Ure:a, Arto Hoikkala,
- Carl Hommel, Robert Hood, Oleg Ivanov, Simon Juden, J. Kai-Mikael, Leon Katz,
- Matt Kennel, Tal Kubo, Jon Leech, Brian Meloon, Tom Menten, Guy Metcalfe,
- Eugene Miya, Lori Moore, Robert Munafo, Miriam Nadel, Ron Nelson, Tom Parker,
- Dale Parson, Matt Perry, Cliff Pickover, Francois Pitt, Michael Rolenz, Tom
- Scavo, Jeffrey Shallit, Rollo Silver, Gerolf Starke, Bruce Stewart, Dwight
- Stolte, Tommy Vaske, Tim Wegner, Andrea Whitlock, Erick Wong, Wayne Young, and
- others.
-
- Special thanks to Matthew J. Bernhardt (mjb@acsu.buffalo.edu) for collecting
- many of the chaos definitions.
-
- Copyright 1993 Ken Shirriff (shirriff@sprite.Berkeley.EDU).
-