Fractal Math - page 2



Mandelbrot Set

The Mandelbrot set is a super-set of the Julia sets. Instead of plotting different initial conditions for Z, we are now plotting results for different values of C (in Z'=Z^2+C). Using a magnification factor of 0.75 (and otherwise using default values for the Julia set) we get the following image (click here for code):



It is interesting to see that only a relatively confined area of phase space is stable (black). As one proceeds away from this area, the behavior becomes much less chaotic (i.e., small changes in C yield very little change in final result).

Up until now, the breakout color scheme has assigned a purple value based on the first (final) value outside the breakout threshold. Let's change it so that the color is assigned according to the number of iterations it takes to "escape" (click here for code):



The brighter purple hues indicate areas where we are closer to the iteration limit (100). As one might expect, these areas outline the stable regions. Farther away from the center, very few iterations are needed to break the threshold (which makes sense since our starting value of C (and hence Z after the first iteration) is higher).