Fractal geometry was devised to help describe the structure of real world objects such as clouds, mountains and complex biological systems. In contrast, traditional geometry focuses on ideal forms such as points, lines, planes, cubes, circles and spheres.
Benoit Mandelbrot, considered by many to be the father of fractal geometry, observed that Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.
One of the features of a fractal image is that the pattern repeats itself as you zoom further into the image. This self-similarity characteristic can be easily observed in objects such as ferns where the leaf pattern repeats itself throughout the fern structure. Other examples include snowflakes, the human lung, and broccoli.
A fractal image can be described easily through mathematics. In fact the equation or recipe for a fractal image is far simpler to store than the image itself. Fractal artists take advantage of this fact by altering only a small number of parameters such as colour gradient and zoom factor to produce an endless number of organic and crystalline designs.
