Everyday fractals

I am sure you have heard of fractals. It is a structure in which a part looks like the whole. It relies on creating structures with repeating patterns. Did you know that we rely on fractals for one major application everyday in our lives? Which application uses fractals?



I found out after watching Nova tonight that cellphone antennas are called fractal antennas because they use this property of self-similarity. (The image above is an example of a fractal antenna) So if you were wondering how the cellphone makers managed to make antennas so small that they fit inside your pocket, fractals are the answer. In order to achieve a high surface area in a small space, they decided to use this property of self-similarity to achieve it.

Beautiful and useful! Do watch NOVA for the many other examples.