He wanted to delve deeper into the world of FPGAs, so [Mike] figured the best way to do so would be to use one to program a Mandelbrot fractal engine. He started out with a goal of creating a 640 ...

Not just any program, mind you; one that would generate a Mandelbrot fractal on a line printer. The IBM 1401 is an odd beast. Even though it’s a fully transistorized computer, these transistors ...

Is this the end of the story? In the mid 20th century, Benoit Mandelbrot brought the concept of fractals into the mainstream. Mandelbrot didn't invent the concept of fractals—mathematicians had ...

They replicate very simple processes over and over to create seemingly-complex patterns. The term ‘fractal’ itself was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot, who was also born in Poland (in Warsaw in 1920).

Many fractals, like the Mandelbrot set above, come from intricate mathematical equations. But some are much simpler and easier to construct. One straightforward but still fascinating fractal is ...

Mandelbrot explored this fractal property of infinite complexity in his work, which was then taken up by a digital animator to create extremely life-like surfaces in his films. This clip is from ...

Image: ESA / Springel et al., Virgo Consortium Benoit Mandelbrot popularized the concept of fractals in the mid-20th century. A fractal is a structure defined by a unique mathematical formula, ...