Fractals in Chemistry

The fern-like patterns of frost on a cold window and eroded landscapes have forms that are regarded as irregular, with little or no symmetry. This book introduces the fractal dimension, a concept that unifies such irregular objects and implies that they all possess a form of symmetry.

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The fern-like patterns of frost on a cold window, eroded landscapes, and particles grown in an aerosol all have forms that are conventionally regarded as irregular, with little or no symmetry. In this book the reader is introduced to the fractal dimension, a concept that unifies the description of such diverse and irregular objects and implies that they all possess a new form of symmetry. The growth of these different objects is controlled by similar simple processes; descriptions of simple experiments that will bring the principles involved to life in a modestly equipped laboratory are also provided. The relevance of fractal concepts to the structure and chemistry of porous solids, and to the growth of polymers and colloids in liquid and gaseous phases, is emphasized within this concise text.