; Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 11:45:17 -0400 ; From: Jim Muth ; Subject: [Fractint] FOTD 14-07-05 (Electron Clouds [7]) ; Id: <1.5.4.16.20050714114714.0cfff46a@pop.mindspring.com> ; --------- ; ; FOTD -- July 14, 2005 (Rating 7) ; ; Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: ; ; For the past two days I have said that the "Hanging Garden" ; image of July 12 contains midgets. Today's image proves it. ; Today's "Electron Clouds" scene exists in the "Hanging Garden" ; image of two days ago, where it was hiding itself among the ; garland of flowers spanning the sky. ; ; Today's image consists mostly of inside stuff. To make this ; stuff visible I have rendered the image with the inside set to ; 'zmag', one of the slower inside options, which I rarely use, ; but which, in today's fractal, works better than any other ; inside option. ; ; The name "Electron Clouds" is a reference to my wonder years, ; when I was just discovering science and the nature of the world ; in which we live. (That sense of wonder is now shared by the ; world of fractals.) Back then, I visualized an atom as a kind ; of miniature solar system, with a central nucleus like a boiling ; raspberry and tiny material electrons circling the nucleus like ; shiny silver planets. ; ; When I asked my high school physics teacher what those electrons ; are made of, and what they actually look like, he replied that I ; was a philosopher, and told me that I would be a good physicist. ; At the time, this puzzled me. I thought that physics was about ; as far from philosophy as it is possible to get. ; ; I have since learned that he was not as wrong as I had supposed. ; Electrons, as well as all the other atomic and sub-atomic ; things, are too small to reflect light, and therefore do not ; possess the attribute we call appearance. Asking how they look ; is meaningless. An atom that resembles a miniature solar system ; is only a mental model, a philosophical idea which makes it ; easier for us to think about atoms. The real question is what, ; if anything, is really down there, serving as the building ; blocks of physical matter. (Or could it all be an illusion, and ; if so, what is having the illusion?) ; ; Well, I see myself drifting from the topic of fractals, into the ; field of philosophy, about which I will have much to say in the ; near future. But for now, it's time to get back to the fractal ; basics. ; ; In my opinion, today's image is worth the 7 I have given it, ; even though I had to hurry a bit when coloring it. The render ; time of 35 minutes is slow, but the medicine for impatience is ; available on the FOTD web site at: ; ; ; ; from where the completed GIF image can be downloaded. ; ; The air was sopping wet with humidity here at Fractal Central on ; Wednesday, while the temperature reached a high of 88F 31C even ; with the heavy clouds. But luckily for the duo, no rain fell, ; permitting them a full afternoon and evening in the holly patch. ; At nightfall they came inside without coaxing to enjoy their ; evening treat of tuna. Today is starting in a similar manner, ; so, unless it rains, I expect similar things from the cats. The ; next fractal will appear by near-magic 24 hours from now. Until ; then, take care, and what is an electron cloud made of? ; ; ; Jim Muth ; jamth@mindspring.com ; jimmuth@aol.com ; ; ; START PARAMETER FILE======================================= Electron_Clouds { ; time=0:35:49.12--SF5 on a P200 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=ident passes=1 center-mag=-18.52288803632655000/-1.37150093362403\ 200/73.30452/1/-102.5/1.14376633164603447e-011 params=-0.99/1.01/0.99/-1/0/3600 float=y maxiter=1000 inside=zmag periodicity=10 colors=000H8kJ9lKBnMCoNEqPGrQHtSJvSJwSJyQLwQLwQMwQ\ MwQOvPOvPPvPPvPRtPRtPStNStNUtNUrNWrNWrMXrMXqMZqMZq\ M_qM_qKaoKaoKcoKcoKdnJdnJfnJfnJglJglJilHilHklHkkHl\ kHlkFnkFniFoiFoiFqiHqgFqiFpiEpiEpiCoiCoiAoiAoi9nk9\ nk7nk7nk6mk6nk5mk5nk6nl7nn7nn9no9oqAoqAorCotCptEqv\ FqwFqwHqyHrzJrzJrzKrzKtzMtzMtzNtzPtzPvzQvzQvzSvzSw\ zUwzUwzVwzXwzXxzYyzYyz_yz_zzazzazzbzzdzzbzzbzzbyzb\ yzayzawzawzavzavz_vz_tz_tz_rz_rzYrzYqzYqzYozYozXoz\ XnzXnzXnzXlzVlzVkzVkzVkzVizUizUgzUgzUgzUfzSfzSdzSd\ zSdzSczQczQczQazQazQ_zP_zP_zPZzPZzPXzNXzNXzNWzNWzN\ UzMUzMUzMSzMSzMSzMRzMRzNPzNPzNOzNOyNOyPMwPMwPLvPLt\ QLtRJrSJrTHqUHqVGoWGoXGnYEnZEl_Cl_CkZCkYBiXBiWBgVB\ gUBgTBfSBeRBcQBcPBcOBaNBaMB_LB_KBZJ9XI9XH9WG9VF9VE\ 9SD9SC9SB9RA9R99Q79Q79Q69O69O79I69N69R59X59_59d59g\ 59l59o59t59w59z59z59z59z58z58z58z58z58z58w58v68r67\ q77n77l97k97iA7gC7fE7gF7i } frm:MandelbrotMix4 {; Jim Muth a=real(p1), b=imag(p1), d=real(p2), f=imag(p2), g=1/f, h=1/d, j=1/(f-b), z=(-a*b*g*h)^j, k=real(p3)+1, l=imag(p3)+100, c=fn1(pixel): z=k*((a*(z^b))+(d*(z^f)))+c, |z| < l } ; END PARAMETER FILE========================================= ; ;