Fractals and Fractal Dimensions

Alan Beardon, University of Cambridge [read Alan's biography]

Summary

This article accompanies the first video-conferencing session, run under the MOTIVATE programme of the Millennium Mathematics Project, presented by Dr Alan Beardon (Cambridge), on the topic of Fractals.

Talk

A first introduction to fractals. An introduction to fractals, including what they are and some of their applications.
The dimension of fractals.. Exploration of the idea of dimension and calculations for the dimension of some self-similar fractals.
Five fractals to explore.. Explore the properties and appearance of fractals.

Project work

Additional material

The Cesaro curve. Java applet to demonstrate the formation of the cesaro curve.
Dendrites constructed by students. Nice dendrites constructed by Year 10 students at John Kelly Girls Technology College
The Peano curve. Java applet to demonstrate the formation of the Peano curve.
References and useful links.
The von Koch Island with bays : a student GCSE project. A GCSE project by Rupa Mannan from Sarah Bonnell School, London.
Teachers notes on fractals.