'take the novitiate in a given discipline through the subtleties of fractal dimension, random fractals, Hurst exponents and so on, in a way that illuminates the field of study, thereby making it a working tool for the would be practitioner ... an excellent book from which even those that have been working in this area for a long time have something to learn. I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in how to apply these new and exciting techniques to the understanding of natural phenomena.' Bruce J. West, University of North Texas, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
`This volume is an essential resource for all natural scientists interested in working with fractals.' Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, 7, 1995
`This volume is an essential resource for all natural scientists interested in working with fractals.' Ethology, Ecology and Evolution
Product Description
This insightful work explains Mandelbrot's fractal geometry and describes some of its most interesting applications. Fractal geometry exploits a characteristic property of the real world--self-similarity--to find simple rules for the assembly of complex natural objects. Beginning with the foundations of measurement in Euclidean geometry, the authors progress from analogues in the geometry of random fractals to applications spanning the natural sciences, including the developmental biology of neurons and pancreatic islets, fluctuations of bird populations, patterns in vegetative ecosystems, and even earthquake models. Written to enable students and researchers to master the methods of this timely subject, the book steers a middle course between the formality of many papers in mathematics and the informality of picture-orientated books on fractals. It is both a logically developed text and an essential "fractals for users" handbook. It is an essential resource for researchers and students in ecology, biology, applied mathematics, and plant and environmental sciences.
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