Mathematics
Understanding Fractals
Quick fact
The coastline of Britain measured with a 1-mile ruler gives a length of about 2,000 miles, but with a 1-foot ruler it becomes nearly 10,000 miles — because a fractal coastline has no finite length.
Why this is interesting
You've seen how a tree's branches mimic the whole tree, or how a coastline looks rugged no matter how far you zoom in. Why do these patterns repeat at every scale?