Fractal TV Program "Hunting the Hidden Dimension" Available Online

November 24, 2008

The DVD of the one-hour PBS Nova broadcast on fractals, "Hunting the Hidden Dimension," which aired nationwide in late October, becomes available for sale early next year. But you don't have to wait until then to get a primer on the subject and the mathematician who made the "invisible visible." The program, which includes commentary by Keith Devlin, is divided into five parts. See one, any, or every portion online.

Fractal Basics: Fractals are intricate, repeating forms that most people have never heard of, but they're everywhere around us. You can find them in the shapes of clouds and mountains, even inside the human body, if you know what to look for. Running time: 11:36.

The Mandelbrot Set: In 1958, Benoit Mandelbrot began using computers to explore vexing problems in mathematics. They helped him understand repeating patterns in nature in a new way. He coined the term "fractal" to describe these patterns, and he unveiled the remarkable form that we now call the Mandelbrot set in 1980. Running time: 9:51.

On the Defense: Although many mathematicians and scientists were skeptical of Mandelbrot's ground-breaking work, his mesmerizing fractal images launched a popular culture fad. More importantly, Mandelbrot's book The Fractal Geometry of Nature explained how his creative mathematical ideas could be applied in the real world. Mandelbrot's mathematics has since inspired a great number of applications, including the fractal antenna. Running time: 10:40.

Fractals in the Body: Fractal patterns can be found up everywhere in biology, from irregular rhythms of the heart to basic eye functions. The fractal nature of physiological processes, which obey simple mathematical rules, offers hope of improved diagnosis and treatment of health problems as well as insights into how such processes work. Running time: 10:15.

Nature's Fractal Nature: With carbon dioxide levels rising worldwide, a team of U.S. scientists traveled to a rain forest in Costa Rica. There they employed fractal geometry to analyze how much carbon dioxide the rain forest can absorb. Running time: 7:52.

The TV show's companion website includes an interview with Benoit Mandelbrot, an article by John Briggs about the Mandelbrot set, interactive programs for designing fractals and delving into the Mandelbrot set, and a transcript of the show.

Source: PBS, Oct. 28, 2008.