In the last few years there has been an explosion of activity in the field of the dynamics of fractal surfaces, which, through the convergence of important new results from computer simulations, analytical theories and experiments, has led to significant advances in our understanding of nonequilibrium surface growth phenomena. This interest in surface growth phenomena has been motivated largely by the fact that a wide variety of natural and industrial processes lead to the formation of rough surfaces and interfaces. This book presents these developments in a single volume by bringing together the works containing the most important results in the field.The material is divided into chapters consisting of reprints related to a single major topic. Each chapter has a general introduction to a particular aspect of growing fractal surfaces. These introductory parts are included in order to provide a scientific background to the papers reproduced in the main part of the chapters. They are written in a pedagogical style and contain only the most essential information. The contents of the reprints are made more accessible to the reader as they are preceded by a short description of what the editors find to be the most significant results in the paper.

In the last few years there has been an explosion of activity in the field of the dynamics of fractal surfaces, which, through the convergence of important new results from computer simulations, analytical theories and experiments, has led to significant advances in our understanding of nonequilibrium surface growth phenomena. This interest in surface growth phenomena has been motivated largely by the fact that a wide variety of natural and industrial processes lead to the formation of rough surfaces and interfaces. This book presents these developments in a single volume by bringing together the works containing the most important results in the field.The material is divided into chapters consisting of reprints related to a single major topic. Each chapter has a general introduction to a particular aspect of growing fractal surfaces. These introductory parts are included in order to provide a scientific background to the papers reproduced in the main part of the chapters. They are written in a pedagogical style and contain only the most essential information. The contents of the reprints are made more accessible to the reader as they are preceded by a short description of what the editors find to be the most significant results in the paper.

This book brings together two of the most exciting and widely studied subjects in modern physics: namely fractals and surfaces. To the community interested in the study of surfaces and interfaces, it brings the concept of fractals. To the community interested in the exciting field of fractals and their application, it demonstrates how these concepts may be used in the study of surfaces. The authors cover, in simple terms, the various methods and theories developed over the past ten years to study surface growth. They describe how one can use fractal concepts successfully to describe and predict the morphology resulting from various growth processes. Consequently, this book will appeal to physicists working in condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics, with an interest in fractals and their application. The first chapter of this important new text is available on the Cambridge Worldwide Web server: http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/onlinepubs/Textbooks/textbookstop.html

Fractal Functions, Fractal Surfaces, and Wavelets, Second Edition, is the first systematic exposition of the theory of local iterated function systems, local fractal functions and fractal surfaces, and their connections to wavelets and wavelet sets. The book is based on Massopust's work on and contributions to the theory of fractal interpolation, and the author uses a number of tools—including analysis, topology, algebra, and probability theory—to introduce readers to this exciting subject. Though much of the material presented in this book is relatively current (developed in the past decades by the author and his colleagues) and fairly specialized, an informative background is provided for those entering the field. With its coherent and comprehensive presentation of the theory of univariate and multivariate fractal interpolation, this book will appeal to mathematicians as well as to applied scientists in the fields of physics, engineering, biomathematics, and computer science. In this second edition, Massopust includes pertinent application examples, further discusses local IFS and new fractal interpolation or fractal data, further develops the connections to wavelets and wavelet sets, and deepens and extends the pedagogical content. - Offers a comprehensive presentation of fractal functions and fractal surfaces - Includes latest developments in fractal interpolation - Connects fractal geometry with wavelet theory - Includes pertinent application examples, further discusses local IFS and new fractal interpolation or fractal data, and further develops the connections to wavelets and wavelet sets - Deepens and extends the pedagogical content

The dynamics of complex systems can clarify the creation of structures in Nature. This creation is driven by the collective interaction of constitutive elements of the system. Such interactions are frequently nonlinear and are directly responsible for the lack of prediction in the evolution process. The self-organization accompanying these processes occurs all around us and is constantly being rediscovered, under the guise of a new jargon, in apparently unrelated disciplines.This volume offers unique perspectives on aspects of fractals and complexity and, through the examination of complementary techniques, provides a unifying thread in this multidisciplinary endeavor. Do nonlinear interactions play a role in the complexity management of socio-econo-political systems? Is it possible to extract the global properties of genetic regulatory networks without knowing the details of individual genes? What can one learn by transplanting the self-organization effects known in laser processes to the study of emotions? What can the change in the level of complexity tell us about the physiological state of the organism? The reader will enjoy finding the answers to these questions and many more in this book.

The investigation of phenomena involving fractals has gone through a spectacular development in the last decade. Many physical, technological and biological processes have been shown to be related to and described by objects with non-integer dimensions. The physics of far-from-equilibrium growth phenomena represents one of the most important fields in which fractal geometry is widely applied. During the last couple of years considerable experimental, numerical and theoretical information has accumulated concerning such processes. This book, written by a well-known expert in the field, summarizes the basic concepts born in the studies of fractal growth and also presents some of the most important new results for more specialized readers. It also contains 15 beautiful color plates demonstrating the richness of the geometry of fractal patterns. Accordingly, it may serve as a textbook on the geometrical aspects of fractal growth and it treats this area in sufficient depth to make it useful as a reference book. No specific mathematical knowledge is required for reading this book which is intended to give a balanced account of the field.

A comprehensive, 1998 account of the practical aspects and pitfalls of the applications of fractal modelling in the physical sciences.