Fractals in Nature

• Trees (branches upon branches)
• Waves (Crests upon crests)
• Mountains (Peaks upon peaks)
• Clouds (Billows upon billows)
• Ferns (Leaves upon leaves)
• Snail Shells (Swirls upon swirls)

Pretty Cool, Right?

As you drink in the details of each of nature’s masterpieces, you’ll begin to notice them everywhere you go. Want to hear something trippy? You’re a fractal. You are a line with 5 pieces sticking out (legs, arms, and head) and your arms and legs each have 5 pieces sticking out. If you allow me to bend the rules a bit, your head even has two ears, two eyes, and a nose.

But Why?

Why do fractals occur so often in nature? One reason is because they’re designed to grow. As trees get bigger they can easily split their outermost branches to make more branches. As clouds continue to gather mass and condensate, the main billow gets bigger and bigger and produces mini-billows on its outer edge. When those billows get too big, they grow mini-billows on themselves as well!

Another reason

They’re incredibly simple. By following a short list of instructions over and over, an organism can effortlessly create a tiered home (snail shell), or an object with superiorly high surface area (lungs), or a complex and highly efficient network for transporting resources (roots)!

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