Fractal Essence

(Another beautiful photograph)

This is a stunning physical manifestation of a fractal pattern known as a Lichtenberg figure. The pattern is created by injecting an acrylic plate with a beam of electrons from a particle accelerator. The electrons burrow successively deeper into the acrylic and create a charge in the molding where they come to rest. When the charge grows too large for the material to maintain stasis, it undergoes the process of dielectric breakdown. This process involves the breakdown of a substance, such as air, acetylene or acrylic into its component atoms. When the substance is exposed to sufficiently high levels of charge, an electrical arc forms, melting the acrylic (or forming a welding arc).

Incidentally, it is this phenomenon that is responsible for the incredible arcs of tesla coils, and those funky purple plasma balls from childhood. Further, this effect creates ozone from electrified air during thunderstorms, resulting in that ‘fresh air’ smell. It’s worth noting that the level of fractal detail is thought to extend down (unsurprisingly?) to the molecular level. What’s more, this pattern is found not only in these beautiful artifacts, but also found on people, golf courses, and sandy areas struck by lightning.

One can ponder how this this phenomenon could be modeled computationally, and what analogues this process may have in biology and other natural phenomena. This all looks quite a bit like lungs look like trees look like capillary beds …