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Julia Sets: Mappings with Decomposition Dr Ian D. Entwistle 2
Chaos in New Clothes and Some New Fractals John Sharp 7
Life in a Box: Lines Fractals and Being Human Dick T. Oliver 13
Editorial and Announcements John de Rivaz 16
The Blancmange Chris Sangwin 18
Fractal Report is published by Reeves Telecommunications Laboratories Ltd.,
West Towan House, Porthtowan, Truro, Cornwall TR4 8AX, United Kingdom.
Volume 3 no 18 First published December 1991. ISSN 0964-5640.
The article pile recovered a bit, but again is now fairly low, and I would be grateful for some contributions for the next issue, preferably before the mid winter break. The articles were a bit longer this time, but I hope that you enjoy them and the graphic images. I have regretfully had to hold over a few articles this time, so if one was yours, don't despair - it may appear next time!
Because of the popularity of Fractint, many readers would benefit from a regular column of articles on using Fractint, especially the Formula function. I look forward to receiving suitable material for publication in future issues.
I would also be interested in material concerning the use of the Roland LAPC-1 PC sound card to generate fractal music, preferably using a compiled BASIC.
Our �300 advertisement appeared in New Scientist on 10 October. (I have incorrectly priced this at �200 in some correspondence.) It is on the top left hand corner of page 56, and underneath it is an advertisement from Strange Attractions, the Kensington chaos shop. At the time of writing we have had over 40 enquiries, but only two subscriptions so far, albeit for all three volumes.
It is now renewal time: Please renew your subscription promptly before you forget. We don't send reminders!
Reader's Hall of Fame
No entry again for magazine articles, I am afraid. I wish someone could get an article in New Scientist mentioning Fractal Report!
Another issue of REC
We have received a further issue of REC, the newsletter for computer maths enthusiasts. The editor, Dr M. Ecker, particularly wants me to point out that the name should always be in capitals, as it is an acronym for Recreational and Educational Computing, and the publication should be referred to in the singular. (I always tended to refer to publications as plural, ie the sum total of their readers. Fractal Report would be nothing without its readers and contributors. Judging from its list of contributing editors and advisors, I should have thought that REC was highly plural, but naturally I will accede to its editor's requirements.)
Anyway, this was an interesting issue and featured an overview of astronomy software, a BASIC programming article, A "slot machine" program, and various puzzles. Of particular interest to Fractal Report readers would be articles on equation solving by iteration and computer string art, although the former was very basic compared to some of the articles we have had the good fortune to receive.
New Release of DRAGONS
As well as the previous extensive features of DRAGONS 3, the new release includes:
Extra colour maps now include the Symmetrical Deposition which gives a very colourful result, especially in the 256 colour modes (as you can see on the enclosed prints).
Fractal files of any size or aspect ratio can be generated. This is especially useful if your printer can support higher resolution than your screen, or is you are running in an emulation mode that only supports a limited resolution.
The object files are now available separately, allowing owners of Borland Turbo C and C++ to incorporate their own fractal formulae and colour maps into DRAGONS.
The documentation is now presented in a printed booklet, making DRAGONS even easier to use.
The executable program and examples come on two 5� inch floppy disks, or one 3� inch floppy disk, costing �16-90 including postage & packing, (�18-50 sterling cheque, payable on a UK bank, outside Western Europe). Registered owners of DRAGONS version 3.0 and above can update to version 4 for �10-00. The object libraries (in Borland Turbo C and C++) cost �5-00.
DRAGONS 4 runs on any IBM PC compatible computer but it must have a colour display.
Copies are available from: Larry Cobb, Bay House, Dean Down Drove,
Littleton, Winchester, Hants, SO22 6PP, England
Please make cheques or postal orders payable to Larry Cobb. An SAE will bring more details.
SAM Disk Based Newsletter
This is a monthly disk based magazine on 280K disks. It features readers' letters, programs and reviews. Fractal programs have been included, as has mention of Fractal Report. SAM readers of Fractal Report are invited to send a 3�" disk for a free sample issue to Brian Munford, 57, St Saviours Road, West Croydon, Surrey, CR0 2XE. If any Fractal Report reader converts a Fractal Report program for this disk magazine, please be sure to include mention of where you got it from, and if possibly include our address and subscription information. (Thanks to Simon Goodwin for this information.)
Dr Keith Wood Has New Address For His Fractal Language Program
Readers with all the back numbers are asked to note that Dr Keith Wood, who offers a PC Fractal Language Program on page 7 of Fractal Report 6, has changed his address to: 24, Chiltern Close The Country Park West Derby Liverpool L12 0NT. Full details of the program, which provides a high speed language for fractal calculations, are in issue 6.
Martin's Mappings "Freeware": Shimmer
I have received on disk some programs by a Singaporean Mr K.C. Chan. These are issued as freeware and have been posted on a number of bulletin boards. The Mandelbrot and Julia programs are totally eclipsed by Fractint, but there is another program Shimmer that is dedicated to Mr Chan's friend (who sent the program) Ms Joy Tang. This program is a version of the well known Martin's mapping, that has been enhanced to make good use of colour and to offer an infinitely changing slide show with a number of options to the viewer. Ms Tang informs me that Mr Chan has incorporated some checks into the .exe program that prevent anyone removing his eloquent dedication by hacking out the text! Mr Chan is working on a number of fractal programs and may be contacted c/o American Transit Consultants, EDPO 10, Chung Hsiao East Road Section 5 Taipei Taiwan R.O.C.
Are Fractals in Need of Charity?
Apparently yes according to Art Matrix. They have launched Operation Fractal Earth. Subscribers are asked to authorise monthly credit card deductions of $2 or more, which are not tax deductible. These will be spent on sending Art Matrix fractal products to schools and public libraries around the world to promote awareness of things chaotic. The products involved will include their videos, slides, books and software. Subscribers will receive quarterly reports on the progress of the project. Full details of this in a copyrighted slightly legal sounding document, together with a financial statement of Art Matrix from 1985-1990, are available from them at PO Box 880, Ithaca, NY 14851-0880, U. S. A.
Maths Postcards of Fractals
Mr Matthew Norman kindly wrote in to tell us that The Mathematical Association 259, London Road Leicester LE2 3BE are offering a set of ten different colour post cards of fractal images for �3.75 including postage costs. They were produced by David Carter of the University of Leeds.
Amiga Public Domain Fractal Collection
A public domain collection called FracGen II is now available on disk for Amiga users. It produces several fractal types that have appeared in Fractal Report over the past issues. Many of the programs have been converted using the Amos programming language and compiled to produce faster running code. All the programs have been modified so as to be much more user friendly than the originals, and have facilities such as pull down menus, saving of images and some image processing such as palette alterations and colour cycling. The disk can be obtained from Amiga public domain dealers or direct from the authors for a copying fee of �3.50 (G. Shilvock & M. Norman 118, Uplands Avenue Rowley Regis West Midlands B65 9PX.)
Another Mandelbrot Pop Group
Reader Christian Moskal, from Berlin, writes of a CD he found in a local record store. The fact that it had the Mandelbrot Set on its cover made him buy it, but he was unable to determine whether any of the pop music on it had fractal origin. Maybe one of our musical readers can throw some light on this. The CD was by the group The Soup Dragons, and the title track was called Love God.
A Detailed Investigation of the Mandelbrot Spike
Mr A.G. Davis Philip has kindly sent a copy of a book he co-authored with three other people on this subject. It is a beautifully bound 166 page hardback, containing a number of images of the Mandelbrot set, detailed analysis of the maths involved with its exploration and some information on the programs used for the many images in the book. Most of the images were obtained using ANSI C, and although many are low resolution they show extreme magnifications, up to 1.4x10359. There is one colour plate, showing a three dimensional representation of the John Dewey Jones midget obtained on a Mac II from a program written in TrueBasic by Kenelm W. Philip, one of the co-authors. This is the cycle 6 midget at R=-1.996376 and was described in an article by Rollo Silver in Amygdala in 1987. The book is available from L. Davis Press, 1125, Oxford Place, Schenectady, NY12308, USA for $33.50, including surface post (- it is quite heavy). (Allow typically one month for delivery, but can be up to three at Christmas time.) Considering the quality of the production and the specialised nature of this work, I consider the price to be very reasonable and would recommend it to anyone wanting to make a detailed study of the Mandelbrot Set's spike and midgets.
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