Mandelbrot set

British

/ ˈmændəlˌbrɒt /

noun

maths a set of points in the complex plane that is self-replicating according to some predetermined rule such that the boundary of the set has fractal dimensions, used in the study of fractal geometry and in producing patterns in computer graphics

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Mandelbrot set Scientific

/ män′dəl-brŏt′ /

The set of complex numbers C for which the iteration z _n ₊₁ = z _n ² + C produces finite z _n for all n when started at z ₀ = 0. The boundary of the Mandelbrot set is a fractal.

Etymology

Origin of Mandelbrot set

C20: after Benoît Mandelbrot (1924–2010), French mathematician, born in Poland

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Mandelbrot set is usually generated by computer and shows fascinating details on enlargement, including self-replication of the set.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Figure 34.21 This image is related to the Mandelbrot set, a complex mathematical form that is chaotic.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

To illustrate, they approximated the shape of the famous Mandelbrot set as the outside curve and a heart as the inside curve.

From Scientific American • Sep. 26, 2012

I could fake math knowledge for little news stories about the Mandelbrot set or Fermat’s last theorem but a major article would be too hard!

From Scientific American • Aug. 24, 2012

Personally I enjoy the beauty of a Mandelbrot set, and the Fibonacci series - and I am neither mathematician nor artist, but a botanist & computer scientist.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023