Complex Numbers Overview
Most of the fractals produced by the Fractal Science Kit fractal generator are integrally tied to complex numbers. Formulas used to define a fractal are given as expressions involving complex numbers. Transformations used to remap the display operate on the complex plane. While it is possible to produce countless beautiful images using only the built-in programs in the Fractal Science Kit, the real power of this tool cannot be realized without programming, and an understanding of complex numbers is a prerequisite to developing your own programs.
In fact, the default data type of the programming language is Complex and all the arithmetic operators operate on complex operands and yield complex results. In addition, most of the built-in functions expect complex arguments and return complex results. This makes developing fractal formulas and complex transformations a snap.
The following web sites provide an introduction to complex numbers:
Eric W. Weisstein. "Complex Number."
From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.