Amalyah-

        Fractals are a geometrical constructs which repeat themselves
on all levels, i.e., the pattern is the same when you focus in on it or pull
away from it (well, they may not be "identical" but they are functionally
the same).  You can create a simple fractal as follows:
        1) Draw a line in the middle of a sheet of paper of length L.
        2) On each end of the line, draw a line of length L/2 at a random
angle but centered on the orginal line (e.g.,  ------/, hmmm that isn't really
centered.                                 /
                   ---------------------/
                                             /
that was a little better)
        3) On the end of each of those lines, draw a line of length L/4 at a
random angle (you should be drawing 4 lines for this).
        4) Continue indefinetly.

Note how the basic structure is the same at all levels (you could stick
your initial line at the end of a line of length 2*L). It isn't identical but it is
the same (in a mathematical, chaotical sense).

        Benoit Mandelbrot is a mathematician (presently at the IBM Watson
Research Center). He has done a lot of work with fractals and
developed a particular type of fractal (a particular mathematical definition
for a fractal). In the late 1980s and early 1990s Mandelbrot fractals
became a popular type of screen saver on computers (I remember
several for Macs in particular).

There is a web page about Mendelbrot fractals:
http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/archive/other/museums/computing/mandelbrot.html
It has links to other pages. Any search engine should find you several
other pages as well. Fractals are used in both art and science.

                                                Angela Putney
                                                Physics Management Fellow
                                                American Institute of Physics
                                                One Physics Ellipse
                                                College Park, MD 20740

                                                Phone: (301) 209-3135
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