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This is the top view of a 3-D fractal (self-similar shapes that repeat themselves on increasingly smaller-length scales) set obtained by using different colors (and a nice rendering method) for points that end up in different regions after iterating a particular map from 3-space to itself. Fractal sets are used extensively in computer graphics to build interesting, "natural-looking" clouds, plants, landscapes, sea surfaces, etc.
They are also used in medical applications, for example, to model organs (lungs) or blood vessel networks.Image credit: ©Paul Carlson
