On the Issues of Scale, Resolution, and Fractal Analysis in the M,Apping Sciences*

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

On the Issues of Scale, Resolution, and Fractal Analysis in the M,Apping Sciences* 88 Volume44, Number1, February1992 port of the Committee on Transpiration and tionships between land-surface processes and clio Evaporation, 1943-44. Transactions,American Geo- mate, and the statistical analysis of large-scale clio physicalUnion 2;:638-93. mate fields. JOHANNES FEDDE1\IA is Assistant Professorof CORT WILLMOTT is Chair of the Department Geography at the University of California, Los An- of Geography and Professorof Geography and Ma- geles. He was formerly a Ph.D. student at the Uni- rine Studies at the University of Dela\vare. He also versity of Dela\vare. His researchinterests include is a member of the University:s Center for Climatic \vater balance climatology and climate/teleconnec- Research. His research interests include the rela- cion processes. On the Issues of Scale, Resolution, and Fractal Analysis in the M,apping Sciences* Nina Siu-Ngan Lam Dale A. Quattrochi Lo/lisianaState University NASA Scienceand TechnologyLaboratory, StennisSpace Center Scale and resolution have long been key issues in geography. The rapid development of anal:-.tical cartography, GIS; and remote sensing {the mapping sciences} in the last decade has forced the issues of scale and resolution to be treated formally and better defined. This paper addresses the problem of scale and resolution in geographical studies, \vith special reference to the mapping sciences. The fractal concept is introduced, and its use in identifying the scale and resolution problem is discussed. The implications of the scale and resolution problem on studies of global change and modeling are also explored. Key words: scale, resolution, fractals, mapping sciences. Scale, Resolution, and Geography areas. Some geographers rely on data obtained from satellites, yet others depend on data re- T he concept of scale is central to geography garding pollen counts and soil particles ob- (Harvey 1969; Meentemeyer 1989; Wat- tained through electronic microscopes. Diver- son 1978; Woodcock and Strahler 1987). It is sity within the discipline results in the need one of the main characteristics that portrays to address spatial problems from multiple geographic data and provides a unique percep- scales and resolutions. tion of spatial attributes as they relate to form, This variation in scales can be regarded both process, and dimension. Geographers often as a strength and weakness of the discipline. deal with spatial phenomena of various scales. Analyzing geographical phenomena using a For example, geomorphology encompasses range of scales offers a special view and meth- stUdies ranging from patterns of river net- ' odology that other disciplines seldom employ, \vorks, river basins, and coastline changes to enhancing geography's strength. To the con- potholes, cave, and gully formation based on trary, the massive amount of data needed for international, national, regional, or local analysis of spatial phenomena at various scales, scales. Climatologists study upper air circula- coupled with the possibility of applying an tion around the globe as \vell as effects of local inappropriate methodology, often leads to a climate on agricultural production and health. meaningless study. This invites criticism and Urban geography includes studies ranging confusion from within the discipline and from from analyzing the urban systems in an in~er- other related disciplines. national, national, or regional context to as- This paper does not attempt to solve issues sessing the impact of facility location on local of scale and resolution, but rather brings to- .\\.e thank Grego~. Carter, Lee De Cola, the anonymous revie,vers, and the editor for improving this paper; Clifford Duplechin a~d Mary Lee Eggart, and the LSl: graduate students for preparing the graphics; and the NASA, john C. Stennis SpaceCenter, Director's Discre- tiona~. Fund for supporting in part the development of this paper. Profession.!Geogr.pher. -1-1(1)1992, pages 88-98 tCCop.vright 1992 b~. Associationof AmericanGeographers Initial submission,April 1991;final acceptance,August 1991 Scale,Resolution, and Fractal Analysis 89 SCALE Closely related to scale is the concept of SPATIAL~ -SPATIo-~ TEMPORAL~"" -TEMPORAL resolution. Resolution refers to the smallest distinguishaoleparts in an object or a sequence (Tobler 1988),and is often determined by the ~ ~, capability of the instrument or the sampling interval used in a stUdy. A map containing data by county is considered of finer spatial resolution than a map by state. In referenceto GEOGRAPHIC OPERATIONAL CARTOGRAPHIC the three meaningsof scale,small-scale stUdies (or Observation) (or Map) usually employ data of finer spatial resolution Figure 1: Meanings of scale. than large-scalestudies. Small-scale maps, on the contrary, often contain lower or coarser resolution data than large-scalemaps. Finally, gether important points regarding scale and phenomenaoperating at a smaller scale, such resolution in light of recent developments, and as potholes and caves, require data of finer proposes the use of fractals for analyzing spa- resolution. Because large-scale studies (geo- tial phenomena encompassing various scales. graphic or observation scale)involving fine res- With appropriate methodology and sufficient olution are rather uncommon, scale and reso- attention to the problem of scale, we believe lution are often blended together and loosely that the geographical perspective derived from referred to as "scale," although it is recognized analysis using differing scales can contribute that a large-scale stUdy does not necessarily in many \vays to an understanding of various mean that it has a coarser resolution, and vice spatial phenomena. This is particularly im- versa. In this paperthe notion of the resolution portant in relating earth processes or other is generally implied whenever the term scale spatial and environmental phenomena within is used. the context of global dynamics (e.g., the In- ternational Geosphere/Biosphere Program). Controversies over the exact definition and Methodological Issues Related to measurement of scale and resolution exist Scale and Resolution (Woodcock and Strahler 1987). Some clarifi- cation of terminology, therefore, is necessary. Severalmethodological dilemmas surrounding The term scale may include all aspects-spa- the scale and resolution issue can be summa- tial, temporal, or spatio-temporal (Fig. 1). In rized here. First, different spatial processes this paper \ve focus on spatial scale. There are operate at different scales,and thus interpre- at least three meanings of scale. First, the term tations based on data of one scale may not scale may be used to denote the spatial extent apply to another scale (Harvey 1968, 1969; of a study (i.e., geographic scale or scale of Stone 1972).The noted "ecological fallacy" in observation). For example, a spatial analysis spatial analysis,making inferences about phe- of land use across the entire United States is nomenaobserved at differing scalesor imply- considered a large-scale study, as compared to ing finer resolution from coarser resolution a land use plan for a city. This definition of data, atteststo this problem. A simple example scale is quite different from the second use by Robinson (1950) sho\vs that correlations called cartographic scale, where a large-scale between t\vo variables,measured IQ and race, map covers smaller area but generally with decreased from 0.94 to 0.73, and finally to more detail, and a small-scale map covers 0.20, as resolution increased from census re- larger area \\1th less detail. The third usage of gion, to state, and to individual study scales scale refers to the spatial extent at which a (Openshaw 1984). particular phenomenon operates (i.e., opera- Because spatial patterns are usually scale tional scale). For example, mountain-building specific, inferring spatial process from spatial processes operate at a much larger scale than pattern is perplexing; this is illustrated by the that of river pothole formation. These three well-known dilemma of different processes meanings of scale, however, are often mixed leading to the same spatial pattern (Harvey and used vaguely in the literature. 1969;Turner et al. 1989b). Moreover, a spatial -~ 90 Volume44, Number1, February1992 pattern may look clustered at one scale but and landscape patterns, and to utilize fully random at another. For example,the mortality remote sensingand GIS. pattern of leukemia cancer in China appears In an integrated GIS and remote sensing randomly distributed if based on county-level system, data of various types, scales,and res- data; if the data are aggregatedand reported olutions are used. How will the analytical by province, a clustered geographicalpattern methods and results be affected by different results (Lam et al. 1989).Depending upon the scalesand resolutions?What is the relationship scale of observation, therefore, processesthat betweenscale and accuracy?The selection of appearhomogeneous at a small scale may be- an appropriate scale is also influenced by the comeheterogeneous at a largerscale. This may techniques used to extract information from be exemplified by patterns of coniferous for- remote sensingdata. The factors of scale and ests infested \vith pine bark beetle blight. At resolution, therefore, have become a major re- a small spatial scale, the patterns of infected searchdirection in GIS and remote sensing. individual trees or groups of trees \\.ithin the forest are not evident, becausethe pattern of insect damage becomesintegrated as part of A Brief Description of
Recommended publications
  • The Fractal Dimension of Islamic and Persian Four-Folding Gardens
    Edinburgh Research Explorer The fractal dimension of Islamic and Persian four-folding gardens Citation for published version: Patuano, A & Lima, MF 2021, 'The fractal dimension of Islamic and Persian four-folding gardens', Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, vol. 8, 86. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00766-1 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1057/s41599-021-00766-1 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 06. Oct. 2021 ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00766-1 OPEN The fractal dimension of Islamic and Persian four- folding gardens ✉ Agnès Patuano 1 & M. Francisca Lima 2 Since Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010) coined the term “fractal” in 1975, mathematical the- ories of fractal geometry have deeply influenced the fields of landscape perception, archi- tecture, and technology. Indeed, their ability to describe complex forms nested within each fi 1234567890():,; other, and repeated towards in nity, has allowed the modeling of chaotic phenomena such as weather patterns or plant growth.
    [Show full text]
  • The Implications of Fractal Fluency for Biophilic Architecture
    JBU Manuscript TEMPLATE The Implications of Fractal Fluency for Biophilic Architecture a b b a c b R.P. Taylor, A.W. Juliani, A. J. Bies, C. Boydston, B. Spehar and M.E. Sereno aDepartment of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA bDepartment of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA cSchool of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia Abstract Fractals are prevalent throughout natural scenery. Examples include trees, clouds and coastlines. Their repetition of patterns at different size scales generates a rich visual complexity. Fractals with mid-range complexity are particularly prevalent. Consequently, the ‘fractal fluency’ model of the human visual system states that it has adapted to these mid-range fractals through exposure and can process their visual characteristics with relative ease. We first review examples of fractal art and architecture. Then we review fractal fluency and its optimization of observers’ capabilities, focusing on our recent experiments which have important practical consequences for architectural design. We describe how people can navigate easily through environments featuring mid-range fractals. Viewing these patterns also generates an aesthetic experience accompanied by a reduction in the observer’s physiological stress-levels. These two favorable responses to fractals can be exploited by incorporating these natural patterns into buildings, representing a highly practical example of biophilic design Keywords: Fractals, biophilia, architecture, stress-reduction,
    [Show full text]
  • Harmonic and Fractal Image Analysis (2001), Pp. 3 - 5 3
    O. Zmeskal et al. / HarFA - Harmonic and Fractal Image Analysis (2001), pp. 3 - 5 3 Fractal Analysis of Image Structures Oldřich Zmeškal, Michal Veselý, Martin Nežádal, Miroslav Buchníček Institute of Physical and Applied Chemistry, Brno University of Technology Purkynova 118, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic [email protected] Introduction of terms Fractals − Fractals are of rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced copy of the whole. − They are crinkly objects that defy conventional measures, such as length and are most often characterised by their fractal dimension − They are mathematical sets with a high degree of geometrical complexity that can model many natural phenomena. Almost all natural objects can be observed as fractals (coastlines, trees, mountains, and clouds). − Their fractal dimension strictly exceeds topological dimension Fractal dimension − The number, very often non-integer, often the only one measure of fractals − It measures the degree of fractal boundary fragmentation or irregularity over multiple scales − It determines how fractal differs from Euclidean objects (point, line, plane, circle etc.) Monofractals / Multifractals − Just a small group of fractals have one certain fractal dimension, which is scale invariant. These fractals are monofractals − The most of natural fractals have different fractal dimensions depending on the scale. They are composed of many fractals with the different fractal dimension. They are called „multifractals“ − To characterise set of multifractals (e.g. set of the different coastlines) we do not have to establish all their fractal dimensions, it is enough to evaluate their fractal dimension at the same scale Self-similarity/ Semi-self similarity − Fractal is strictly self-similar if it can be expressed as a union of sets, each of which is an exactly reduced copy (is geometrically similar to) of the full set (Sierpinski triangle, Koch flake).
    [Show full text]
  • Analyse D'un Modèle De Représentations En N Dimensions De
    Analyse d’un modèle de représentations en n dimensions de l’ensemble de Mandelbrot, exploration de formes fractales particulières en architecture. Jean-Baptiste Hardy 1 Département d’architecture de l’INSA Strasbourg ont contribués à la réalisation de ce mémoire Pierre Pellegrino Directeur de mémoire Emmanuelle P. Jeanneret Docteur en architecture Francis Le Guen Fractaliste, journaliste, explorateur Serge Salat Directeur du laboratoire des morphologies urbaines Novembre 2013 2 Sommaire Avant-propos .................................................................................................. 4 Introduction .................................................................................................... 5 1 Introduction aux fractales : .................................................... 6 1-1 Présentation des fractales �������������������������������������������������������������������� 6 1-1-1 Les fractales en architecture ������������������������������������������������������������� 7 1-1-2 Les fractales déterministes ................................................................ 8 1-2 Benoit Mandelbrot .................................................................................. 8 1-2-1 L’ensemble de Mandelbrot ................................................................ 8 1-2-2 Mandelbrot en architecture .............................................................. 9 Illustrations ................................................................................................... 10 2 Un modèle en n dimensions :
    [Show full text]
  • Fractal Analysis of the Vascular Tree in the Human Retina
    3 Jun 2004 22:39 AR AR220-BE06-17.tex AR220-BE06-17.sgm LaTeX2e(2002/01/18) P1: IKH 10.1146/annurev.bioeng.6.040803.140100 Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng. 2004. 6:427–52 doi: 10.1146/annurev.bioeng.6.040803.140100 Copyright c 2004 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved First published online as a Review in Advance on April 13, 2004 FRACTAL ANALYSIS OF THE VASCULAR TREE IN THE HUMAN RETINA BarryR.Masters Formerly, Gast Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland; email: [email protected] Key Words fractals, fractal structures, eye, bronchial tree, retinal circulation, retinal blood vessel patterns, Murray Principle, optimal vascular tree, human lung, human bronchial tree I Abstract The retinal circulation of the normal human retinal vasculature is statis- tically self-similar and fractal. Studies from several groups present strong evidence that the fractal dimension of the blood vessels in the normal human retina is approximately 1.7. This is the same fractal dimension that is found for a diffusion-limited growth process, and it may have implications for the embryological development of the retinal vascular system. The methods of determining the fractal dimension for branching trees are reviewed together with proposed models for the optimal formation (Murray Princi- ple) of the branching vascular tree in the human retina and the branching pattern of the human bronchial tree. The limitations of fractal analysis of branching biological struc- tures are evaluated. Understanding the design principles of branching vascular systems and the human bronchial tree may find applications in tissue and organ engineering, i.e., bioartificial organs for both liver and kidney.
    [Show full text]
  • Winning Financial Trading with Equilibrium Fractal Wave
    Winning Financial Trading with Equilibrium Fractal Wave Subtitle: Introduction to Equilibrium Fractal Wave Trading Author: Young Ho Seo Finance Engineer and Quantitative Trader Book Version: 2.2 (16 October 2018) Publication Date: 13 February 2017 Total Pages counted in MS-Word: 121 Total Words counted in MS-Word: 14,500 [email protected] www.algotrading-investment.com About the book This book will introduce you the brand new concept called “Equilibrium fractal wave” for the financial trading. This powerful concept can guide and improve your practical trading. The concept taught here can also help the strategist to create new trading strategies for Stock and Forex market. Please note that this book was designed to introduce the equilibrium fractal wave concept mostly. If you are looking for more trading strategy oriented guidelines, then please read “Financial Trading with Five Regularities of Nature” instead of this book. You can find the Book “Financial Trading with Five Regularities of Nature”: Scientific Guide to Price Action and Pattern Trading (Seo, 2017) in both from amazon.com and algotrading-investment.com. 2 Risk Disclaimer The information in this book is for educational purposes only. Leveraged trading carries a high level of risk and is not suitable for all market participants. The leverage associated with trading can result in losses, which may exceed your initial investment. Consider your objectives and level of experience carefully before trading. If necessary, seek advice from a financial advisor. Important warning: If you find the figures and table numberings are mismatched in this book, please report it to: [email protected] 3 Table of Contents About the book ..................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • An Exploration of Fractal Mathematics As a Route to Developing a More Robust Theology for Fresh Expressions of Church
    An exploration of Fractal Mathematics as a route to developing a more robust theology for Fresh Expressions of Church. Pete Brazier Wesley Study Centre, St John's College September 2014 (Slightly updated Nov 2014) M.A. in Theology and Ministry Word Count: 15,000 Words This dissertation is the product of my own work, and the work of others has been properly acknowledged throughout. Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: What is wrong with Fresh Expressions of Church? .......................................................................... 5 External Critiques ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Internal Critiques ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Reframing the conversation ........................................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 2: What are Fractals and how do they reflect Creation? ................................................................... 16 Definition 1: ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Definition 2: ................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Furniture Design Inspired from Fractals
    169 Rania Mosaad Saad Furniture design inspired from fractals. Dr. Rania Mosaad Saad Assistant Professor, Interior Design and Furniture Department, Faculty of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt Abstract: Keywords: Fractals are a new branch of mathematics and art. But what are they really?, How Fractals can they affect on Furniture design?, How to benefit from the formation values and Mandelbrot Set properties of fractals in Furniture Design?, these were the research problem . Julia Sets This research consists of two axis .The first axe describes the most famous fractals IFS fractals were created, studies the Fractals structure, explains the most important fractal L-system fractals properties and their reflections on furniture design. The second axe applying Fractal flame functional and aesthetic values of deferent Fractals formations in furniture design Newton fractals inspired from them to achieve the research objectives. Furniture Design The research follows the descriptive methodology to describe the fractals kinds and properties, and applied methodology in furniture design inspired from fractals. Paper received 12th July 2016, Accepted 22th September 2016 , Published 15st of October 2016 nearly identical starting positions, and have real Introduction: world applications in nature and human creations. Nature is the artist's inspiring since the beginning Some architectures and interior designers turn to of creation. Despite the different artistic trends draw inspiration from the decorative formations, across different eras- ancient and modern- and the geometric and dynamic properties of fractals in artists perception of reality, but that all of these their designs which enriched the field of trends were united in the basic inspiration (the architecture and interior design, and benefited nature).
    [Show full text]
  • The Fractal Mandelbrot Set and the Shaping of the 3D Fractal G.M. Kravchenko, L.I. Pudanova, Don State Technical University
    Инженерный вестник Дона, №4 (2018) ivdon.ru/ru/magazine/archive/ n4y2018/5374 The fractal Mandelbrot set and the shaping of the 3D fractal G.M. Kravchenko, L.I. Pudanova, Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don Annotation: The theory of fractals is applicable for creating the real objects and for constructing the independent elements of the framework or the whole structure of the building. Innovative program was developed to research the shaping of the 3D fractal. The object of the study is 3D Mandelbrot fractal. External structures of various powers of 3D fractal were modeled and researched. New terminology has been developed which can be applied to 3D fractals. The power factor shows the ratio of the work of external forces to the total external. The concept of forming 3D fractal can be used in the design of unique buildings and structures. Keywords: fractal, fractal geometry, Mandelbrot set, 3D fractal, fractal structure, finite element method. Fractals are expressed in the algorithms and sets of the mathematical operations. The fractal geometry of Mandelbrot studies nonsmooth, rough, foamy objects as well as objects capped with pores, cracks and holes [1-5]. The theory of fractals is used in the fractal analysis of the nanomodified composite microstructure [6,7] and in fractal analysis of effect of air void on freeze–thaw resistance of concrete [8, 9]. The possible field of application this theory in civil engineering is quite extensive. Fractal theory is applicable for creating the real objects and for constructing the independent elements of the framework or the whole structure of the building [10-12].
    [Show full text]
  • New Methods for Estimating Fractal Dimensions of Coastlines
    New Methods for Estimating Fractal Dimensions of Coastlines by Jonathan David Klotzbach A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The College of Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida May 1998 New Methods for Estimating Fractal Dimensions of Coastlines by Jonathan David Klotzbach This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate's thesis advisor, Dr. Richard Voss, Department of Mathematical Sciences, and has been approved by the members of his supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of The College of Science and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ~~~y;::ThesisAMo/ ~-= Mathematical Sciences Date 11 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Richard Voss, for all of his help and insight into the world of fractals and in the world of computer programming. You have given me guidance and support during this process and without you, this never would have been completed. You have been an inspiration to me. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Heinz- Otto Peitgen and Dr. Mingzhou Ding, for their help and support. Thanks to Rich Roberts, a graduate student in the Geography Department at Florida Atlantic University, for all of his help converting the data from the NOAA CD into a format which I could use in my analysis. Without his help, I would have been lost. Thanks to all of the faculty an? staff in the Math Department who made my stay here so enjoyable.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 5. Introduction to Fractals
    CHAPTER 5 Introduction to Fractals Larry S. Liebovitch Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, & Departments of Psychology and Biomedical Sciences Florida Atlantic University 777 Glades Road Boca Raton, FL 33431 U. S. A. E-mail: [email protected] http://walt.ccs.fau.edu/~liebovitch/larry.html Lina A. Shehadeh Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences Florida Atlantic University 777 Glades Road Boca Raton, FL 33431 U. S. A. Liebovitch & Shehadeh INTRODUCTION This chapter is a Word version of the PowerPoint presentation given by Dr. Larry S. Liebovitch at the NSF Nonlinear Methods in Psychology Workshop, October 24-25, 2003 at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. The PowerPoint presentation itself is also available as a part of this web book. Here the notes which can be seen on the PowerPoint presentation by using “Normal View” are presented as text around their respective PowerPoint slides. The concept here is to try to reproduce the look and feel of the presentation at the workshop. Therefore, this is not, and is not meant to be, your usual “print” article. The form of the language here is more typical of spoken, rather than written, English. The form of the graphics is sparser, larger pictures captioned with larger fonts, that is more typical of PowerPoint presentations than printed illustrations. We hope that this experimental format may provide a simpler introduction to fractals than that of a more formal presentation. We also hope that the availability of the PowerPoint file will be of use in teaching these materials and may also serve as a starting point for others to customize these slides for their own applications.
    [Show full text]
  • The Unexpected Fractal Signatures in Fibonacci Chains
    The Unexpected Fractal Signatures in Fibonacci chains Fang Fang, Raymond Aschheim and Klee Irwin Quantum Gravity Research, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Quasicrystals are fractal due to their self similar property. In this paper, a new cycloidal fractal signature possessing the cardioid shape in the Mandelbrot set is presented in the Fourier space of a Fibonacci chain with two lengths, L and S, where L=S = φ. The corresponding pointwise dimension is 0:7. Various modifications, such as truncation from the head or tail, scrambling the orders of the sequence, and changing the ratio of the L and S, are done on the Fibonacci chain. The resulting patterns in the Fourier space show that that the fractal signature is very sensitive to changes in the Fibonacci order but not to the L=S ratio. 1. Introduction Quasicrystals possess exotic and sometimes anomalous properties that have interested the scientific community since their discovery by Shechtman in 1982 [1]. Of particular interest in this manuscript is the self similar property of quasicrystals that makes them fractal. Historically, research on the fractal aspect of quasicrystalline properties has revolved around spectral and wave function analysis [2, 3, 4]. Mathematical investigation [5, 6] of the geometric structure of quasicrystals is less represented in the literature than experimental work. In this paper, a new framework for analyzing the fractal nature of quasicrystals is introduced. Specifically, the fractal properties of a one-dimensional Fibonacci chain and its derivatives are studied in the complex Fourier space. The results may also be found in two and three dimensional quasicrystals that can be constructed using a network of one dimensional Fibonacci chains [7].
    [Show full text]