
In mathematics, the mandelbox is a
fractal
In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as il ...
with a boxlike shape found by Tom Lowe in 2010. It is defined in a similar way to the famous
Mandelbrot set
The Mandelbrot set () is the set of complex numbers c for which the function f_c(z)=z^2+c does not diverge to infinity when iterated from z=0, i.e., for which the sequence f_c(0), f_c(f_c(0)), etc., remains bounded in absolute value.
This ...
as the values of a parameter such that the origin does not escape to infinity under iteration of certain geometrical transformations. The mandelbox is defined as a map of continuous
Julia sets, but, unlike the Mandelbrot set, can be defined in any number of dimensions. It is typically drawn in three dimensions for illustrative purposes.
Simple definition
The simple definition of the mandelbox is, for a vector ''z'', for each component in ''z'' (which corresponds to a dimension), if the absolute value of the component is greater than 1, subtract it from either 2 or −2, depending on the ''z''.
Generation
The iteration applies to vector ''z'' as follows:
function iterate(''z''):
for each component in ''z'':
if component > 1:
component := 2 - component
else if component < -1:
component := -2 - component
if magnitude of ''z'' < 0.5:
''z'' := ''z'' * 4
else if magnitude of ''z'' < 1:
''z'' := ''z'' / (magnitude of ''z'')^2
''z'' := ''scale'' * ''z'' + ''c''
Here, ''c'' is the constant being tested, and ''scale'' is a real number.
Properties
A notable property of the mandelbox, particularly for scale −1.5, is that it contains approximations of many well known fractals within it.
For
the mandelbox contains a solid core. Consequently, its
fractal dimension
In mathematics, more specifically in fractal geometry, a fractal dimension is a ratio providing a statistical index of complexity comparing how detail in a pattern (strictly speaking, a fractal pattern) changes with the scale at which it is meas ...
is 3, or ''n'' when generalised to ''n'' dimensions.
For
the mandelbox sides have length 4 and for
they have length
.
See also
*
Mandelbulb
*
Buddhabrot
*
Lichtenberg figure
References
External links
Gallery and descriptionVideo : zoom in the Mandelbox cube
Fractals
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