Beginner

[LouVonSalome]

Okay, so I'm familiar with some of the types of fractals (Koch
snowflace, Menger sponge, Sierpinski triangles, Barnley's fern,
Mandelbrot/Julia sets) and the basic definition of what a fractal is,
but I don't know how complex numbers work, and I don't know how to
generate a fractal, or the equations, or anything else at all really.
Are there any good sites for people who only have a differential
calculus math base but are interested in how fractals...work? (for lack
of a better term) Any help would be much appreciated.

Lou

[Marcel Overweel]

Post by LouVonSalome
Okay, so I'm familiar with some of the types of fractals (Koch
snowflace, Menger sponge, Sierpinski triangles, Barnley's fern,
Mandelbrot/Julia sets) and the basic definition of what a fractal is,
but I don't know how complex numbers work, and I don't know how to
generate a fractal, or the equations, or anything else at all really.
Are there any good sites for people who only have a differential
calculus math base but are interested in how fractals...work? (for lack
of a better term) Any help would be much appreciated.
Lou

Hi Lou,

Here are some interesting links:

http://plus.maths.org/issue9/features/mandelbrot/

http://mathforum.org/library/topics/fractals/

http://www.math.toronto.edu/mathnet/questionCorner/fracthist.html

http://www.jracademy.com/~jtucek/math/fractals.html

http://www.geisswerks.com/ryan/NEAT/FAQ/fractal1.htm

and this one is very interesting, by the looks of it: a lot of fractal types
with source(!)
http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~pbourke/fractals/

And a site with some general complex math stuff:

http://www.efg2.com/Lab/Mathematics/Complex/
especially:
http://www.efg2.com/Lab/Mathematics/Complex/Numbers.htm
http://www.efg2.com/Lab/Mathematics/Complex/Arithmetic.htm


Happy programming! :)

regards,
Marcel

[dave]

Hi Lou,

One way to get info on the maths behind fractals is to download
the "DOS" version of fractint and then use "fractint -makedoc"
then read the doc file. It's a great starter on fractals generally, not just
a guide to fractint and includes much of the maths related to complex
numbers
including higher functions broken down to real calculations for x and y
where z=x+iy - another good place to look for ANY sort of maths stuff
is online at mathworld.wolfram.com :-)

bye
Dave

http://website.lineone.net/~dave_makin/

Post by LouVonSalome
Okay, so I'm familiar with some of the types of fractals (Koch
snowflace, Menger sponge, Sierpinski triangles, Barnley's fern,
Mandelbrot/Julia sets) and the basic definition of what a fractal is,
but I don't know how complex numbers work, and I don't know how to
generate a fractal, or the equations, or anything else at all really.
Are there any good sites for people who only have a differential
calculus math base but are interested in how fractals...work? (for lack
of a better term) Any help would be much appreciated.
Lou