1. Figure 1 Examples of natural fractal phenomena
Figure 1 | Examples of natural fractal phenomena. a | This photograph by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope shows the spectacular fractal complexity of barred spiral galaxy Messier 83 (colloquially, the Southern Pinwheel), constellation Hydra at 15 million light years away. Image reprinted courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech. b | Multifractal patterns have been spotted in the quantum realm — at the atomic-scale resolution of a scanning tunnelling microscope, the sudden transition at which a material changes from a metal to an insulator, the waves associated with individual electrons gain a distinct multifractal pattern74. Permission obtained from Ali Yazdani, Physics Department, Princeton University, USA. c | The quasifractal complexity of the 'conceptually impossible' fivefold symmetrical arrangement seen in the atomic model of an aluminium–palladium–manganese quasicrystal surface. Its surface structure can be modelled by a mathematical Penrose tiling that is self-similar at different scales. Image reprinted from Thiel, P. A. et al. A distinctive feature of the surface structure of quasicrystals: intrinsic and extrinsic heterogeneity. Isr. J. Chem. 51, 1326–1339 (2011), with permission from John Wiley and Sons.
Image reprinted from Thiel, P. A. et al. A distinctive feature of the surface structure of quasicrystals:
intrinsic and extrinsic heterogeneity. Isr. J. Chem. 51, 1326–1339 (2011), with permission from John Wiley and Sons
Captur, G. et al. (2016) The fractal heart — embracing mathematics in the cardiology clinic
Nat. Rev. Cardiol. doi: /nrcardio