17 October 2010 Last updated at 13:26

In pictures: Mandelbrot's fractals

Benoit Mandelbrot, a mathematics pioneer and the father of the principle of fractal geometry, has died in the US at the age of 85.

$Computer-generated image derived from a fractal set.$ The fractal principle uses mathematical formulas to attempt to understand the complexity of the natural world.

In his seminal 1982 work The Fractal Geometry of Nature, Mandelbrot argued that seemingly random patterns could in fact be the same infinitely repeated shape.

He once used a cauliflower to describe the mathematical principle, pointing out that the shape of the vegetable was repeated over and over.

Satellite image of the Firth of Forth, Scotland

The mathematical principle has been used to measure shapes previously thought unmeasurable, including coastlines and mountains.

Mandelbrot also applied the concept to economics, but he was critical of the global financial system, believing it to be too complex to properly function.

$Julia fractal$ Fractal geometry can be depicted in intricate and colourful computer designs which have become popular as artworks in their own right.

$Mandelbrot fractal$ One fractal variation was even named after Mandelbrot.

$Crop formation in a Mandelbrot fractal$ The Mandelbrot Set has had a huge influence on mathematics and culture - examples have even been known to appear as crop formations.

US & Canada

In pictures: Mandelbrot's fractals

Share this page

Services

About BBC News