ALL meanings of fractal
frac·tal
F f - noun fractal A curve or geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation. 1
- noun Definition of fractal in Technology (mathematics, graphics) A fractal is a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a smaller copy of the whole. Fractals are generally self-similar (bits look like the whole) and independent of scale (they look similar, no matter how close you zoom in). Many mathematical structures are fractals; e.g. Sierpinski triangle, Koch snowflake, Peano curve, Mandelbrot set and Lorenz attractor. Fractals also describe many real-world objects that do not have simple geometric shapes, such as clouds, mountains, turbulence, and coastlines. See also fractal compression, fractal dimension, Iterated Function System. 1
- noun fractal a geometrical or physical structure having an irregular or fragmented shape at all scales of measurement between a greatest and smallest scale such that certain mathematical or physical properties of the structure, as the perimeter of a curve or the flow rate in a porous medium, behave as if the dimensions of the structure (fractal dimensions) are greater than the spatial dimensions. 1
- noun fractal (mathematics) A mathematical set that has a non-integer and constant Hausdorff dimension; a geometric figure that is self-similar at all scales. 0
- noun fractal (figuratively) An object, system, or idea that exhibits a fractal-like property. 0
- adjective fractal (mathematics) Having the form of a fractal. 0
- adjective fractal (figuratively) Exhibiting a fractal-like property. 0
- countable noun fractal In geometry, a fractal is a shape made up of parts that are the same shape as itself and are of smaller and smaller sizes. 0
- noun fractal a figure or surface generated by successive subdivisions of a simpler polygon or polyhedron, according to some iterative process 0
- adjective fractal of, relating to, or involving such a process 0
- noun fractal an extremely irregular line or surface formed of an infinite number of similarly irregular sections: fractals have fractional dimension between one and two, or between two and three, dimensions 0