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Friday Fractal XXXVII

By chaoticutopia on March 2, 2007.

For today's fractal, here's something abstract:

i-7bc44fb6843e31258f33e410205cb72d-lbf.jpg

The Lines Between*

*Left open to interpretation.

If that seems too intangible, how about no lines at all, just points? This fun little toy, called MandelSwarm, allows you to explore the Mandelbrot set with "magnetized particles." (That's the best description I could come up with, anyways.) It's one of those things you have to try for yourself. Drag the window around as you like, using + or - to zoom in and out, and enter to refresh the particles. MandelSwarm is one of the more unique forms of fractal exploration that I've run across, and reminds me of some cellular automaton programs I've seen.

In other fractal news, researchers trying to find more effiecent storage solutions for methane (as an alternative fuel) are looking at the fractal pore spaces in corn cobs. From Science Daily, via a tip from Martin. (I thought of doing a corn cob fractal, but the yummie peaches and cream variety won't be in season for quite a few months.)

Fractal made by the author using ChaosPro.

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Fractals

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Not sure why, but it reminds me of a samurai's helmet.

By Jeff Lanam (not verified) on 02 Mar 2007 #permalink

Thanks for the comment Steve. I actually wrote in a comment here a few weeks ago asking what was happening with this blog after the announcement that O'Reilly was dropping the Digital Media division. It's really refreshing to get an honest comment on what's happening. I really hope the blog picks up again.

Strange, they look correct to me. I checked in a few different browsers. It sounds like there is some sort of database error that is misdisplaying for only some readers. Weird, and worth checking out. (I sort of like the idea of being able to suggest Dave was the one who typed "condiments" instead of "continents")