34
R. Barrett and P. P. Delsanto
Fig. 2.3 Example of a Mandelbrot Set. The Mandelbrot Set is generated by successive
repetitive applications of a simple mathematical formula. Image courtesy of Wolfgang Beyer (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_
set.jpg (accessed 2020/5/10))
associated with various types of tumours, crystals, prices (e.g. in the stock
market), defects and infiltrations in materials, etc.
The same is also true for the growth of animals. Figure 2.4, reprinted from
West et al. [9], shows the relationship between the mass as a function of time
(i.e. the growth) for a wide variety of animal species. For example, superficially, if one were to compare the growth rates of a pig and a hen, they would
look quite different. However, when plotted in dimensionless coordinates, as
is the case in Fig. 2.4, a remarkable similarity emerges between the growth
rates of all animal species.
Dimensionless units are used in physics, and in other sciences, to avoid
dependence on arbitrary units, such as the metre and the kilogram, which
have been specified by humans and have no particular physical significance.
For instance, a person’s mass may be specified as 77 kg, or 170 lb. In this case,
his or her mass is being compared with that of a lump of metal lying in a Paris
R. Barrett and P. P. Delsanto
Fig. 2.3 Example of a Mandelbrot Set. The Mandelbrot Set is generated by successive
repetitive applications of a simple mathematical formula. Image courtesy of Wolfgang Beyer (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_
set.jpg (accessed 2020/5/10))
associated with various types of tumours, crystals, prices (e.g. in the stock
market), defects and infiltrations in materials, etc.
The same is also true for the growth of animals. Figure 2.4, reprinted from
West et al. [9], shows the relationship between the mass as a function of time
(i.e. the growth) for a wide variety of animal species. For example, superficially, if one were to compare the growth rates of a pig and a hen, they would
look quite different. However, when plotted in dimensionless coordinates, as
is the case in Fig. 2.4, a remarkable similarity emerges between the growth
rates of all animal species.
Dimensionless units are used in physics, and in other sciences, to avoid
dependence on arbitrary units, such as the metre and the kilogram, which
have been specified by humans and have no particular physical significance.
For instance, a person’s mass may be specified as 77 kg, or 170 lb. In this case,
his or her mass is being compared with that of a lump of metal lying in a Paris