What is a fractal?
Here are some definitions
1) A shape that can be repeatedly subdivided into parts, each of which is a smaller copy of the whole. Fractals are generally self-similar and independent of scale.
2) A fractal is a geometric object which is rough or irregular on all scales of length, and so which appears to be 'broken up' in a radical way. Some of the best examples can be divided into parts, each of which is similar to the original object. Fractals are said to possess infinite detail, and they may actually have a self-similar structure that occurs at different levels of magnification.
3) A term coined by Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975 to refer to items with fractional dimensions as opposed to the integer dimensions such as 1, 2 and 3 associated with length, area and volume. Often used to refer to a structure bearing statistically similar details over a wide range of scales. Fractals describe shapes that are "self-similar" -- that is, shapes that look the same at different
