Trying to picture something infinite (that means something that has no end and goes on forever and ever) is amazingly difficult – it can make your brain hurt just thinking about it! A great way to help contemplate the size of infinity is through fractals. A fractal is a never-ending pattern that repeats itself at different scales, which is known as self-similarity. Even though fractals can look fantastically complicated, they’re really just made by repeating a simple process.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Mathematical fractals are created by calculating a simple equation thousands of times, and then feeding those answers in a loop back to the beginning. These fractals are infinitely complicated and allow us to zoom into the fractal forever.
Eternal triangle
Another mathematical fractal is the Sierpiński triangle, named after the mathematician Wacław Sierpiński. This is a self-similar fractal and is made from a triangle with equal sides, inside of which smaller equal-sided triangles are repeatedly removed in a repeating pattern.
Forever and ever
Infinity isn’t really a number, it’s an idea. Infinity is something that is endless and cannot be measured. What’s amazing is that in maths there are different sizes of infinity as well as different kinds of infinity. Amazing.
