Editing Fractal (section)

==Etymology==
The term "fractal" was coined by the mathematician [[Benoît Mandelbrot]] in 1975.<ref>Benoît Mandelbrot, ''Objets fractals'', 1975, p. 4</ref> Mandelbrot based it on the Latin {{lang|la|[[wikt:fractus#Latin|frāctus]]}}, meaning "broken" or "fractured", and used it to extend the concept of theoretical fractional [[fractal dimension|dimensions]] to geometric [[patterns in nature]].<ref name="Mandelbrot1983" /><ref name="Mandelbrot quote">{{cite book |title=Mathematical people : profiles and interviews |last1=Albers |first1=Donald J. |last2=Alexanderson |first2=Gerald L. |publisher=AK Peters |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-56881-340-0 |location=Wellesley, MA |page=214 |chapter=Benoît Mandelbrot: In his own words |author2-link=Gerald L. Alexanderson}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED|id=74094|term=fractal}}</ref>