2010/1/3 Bob W <p...@web-options.com>: > I think it's the PDML maths professor you want though. However, you can > expect some very different reactions to this picture - even though I failed > O-level maths I think I'm correct in saying that fractal functions both > attract and repel.
You'd need a field mathematician. :-) If you stay a while at the beach you can actually see these patterns form before your eyes. Running water will flush out more sand where it finds an edge to begin with, because the water will speed up over the edge, and the edge grains will be more exposed to drag from the water. It may begin where there is a turbulence, like in the wake of the stone, for example. As to the treelike shape of the pattern, I don't know if it's just the decreasing force of the water as wave or tide retracts or that the force is gradually spread over a larger area, but I suspect both. It's a fairly standard erosion pattern. If you use Google Earth, you can see the same patterns on a larger scale in most mountaineous areas. Particularly in arid places that experience flash floods. The same kind of erosion patterns on Mars is convincing evidence for past existence of water there, according to NASA. I don't care much about the maths though. :-) Jostein -- http://www.alunfoto.no/galleri/ http://alunfoto.blogspot.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
