 |
Weigh out different amounts of dried peas. |
Wrap each
amount in plastic wrap, in an approximately spherical shape and measure the
diameters of the clusters. |
One experiment gave the results on the left. |
Plotting
Log(mass) vs Log(diam), we see the points fall almost along a straight line of
slope 3.0. |
|
This data supports a power law relation of the form |
mass = k⋅diam3 |
On the other hand, the peas pack tightly.
Although there are spaces between
the peas, the spaces are all about the same size. |
There is no hierarchy of structures
that characterize fractals. |
Unlike crumpled paper, clusters of peas are not fractal. |
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