Fractals in Our World
By Kevin Hare, Department of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo

The GTLLI audience was introduced to the unique and exciting world of Fractals.   Kevin's computer zoomed in on the beautifully intriguing Mandelbrot Set and we were immediately hooked on Fractals!  We learned how these irregular but repeating (or self-replicating) shapes can be seen everywhere (eg. cauliflower, craggy mountains, cloud formations, coastlines, ferns, trees, the stock market).  This relatively new mathematical topic has opened up a wealth of applications.  Modern computers have allowed mathematicians, scientists, engineers and animators to generate fractals imitating real life, with successive manipulation of a few simple geometric shapes.  Kevin's colourful and dynamic animations demonstrated fractal techniques used to estimate the length of rivers or coastlines, predict super-cell storms, create mountains, clouds, ferns and trees in movies and develop super-water-repellent surfaces.

VIDEO: Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension