Zooming in and out
There are three ways to zoom in and out with the Fractal Microscope:
If you start to drag a zoom area and decide that you don't really want to zoom in, just move the mouse off the image and let the mouse button up there. Nothing will happen.
You do not have to press update to make drag and zoom take effect.
Changing from the Mandelbrot set to the Julia set
There are two ways to change from the Mandelbrot set to the Julia set:
Changing from the Julia set to the Mandelbrot set
There are two ways to change from the Julia set to the Mandelbrot set:
Coordinate Information
Turn this checkbox on to see the information window. This window tells you what point your mouse is at when it's over the image and how many iterations it took for that point to escape. This can be used with "Drag and Zoom" to zoom in on a particular area.
Quick Julia
This checkbox shows and hides a window that draws an outline of the Julia set using a fast algorithm. This "quick" Julia set is not as detailed as the Julia sets you can generate in the main window, but it can give you an idea of what the set looks like.
The "Update" Bar
If you change the corners, depth, formula, or some other setting and the image doesn't seem to change, you probably forgot to press this. Hitting the update bar causes the picture of the Mandelbrot or Julia set to be updated. For most of the controls above the update bar, no changes will take effect until you hit the update bar. This is so that you can make several changes without taking the time to recalculate after each one.
Set Corners...
This displays a dialog box which lets you set the left, right, top, and bottom bounds of the image drawn. There are two ways to do this:
You have to press the update bar before changes to the corners take effect.
Set Depth...
The depth determines how many times the Fractal Microscope iterates before it decides a point is in the Mandelbrot or Julia set and colors it black. Setting the depth higher gives a more defined image. It also makes the image take longer to draw. If you zoom in very close, you'll want to increase the depth to see greater detail. You must press the update bar before changes to depth take effect.
Logarithmic Smoothing
Toggle this checkbx to turn logarithmic smoothing on and off. Logarithmic smoothing is an alternative color scheme that shows a greater variety of colors. You have to press update before this change takes effect.
Palette
These are different color schemes for painting the Mandelbrot or Julia set. You don't have to click update after changing the palette.
Formula
Select an exponent between two and ten. The standard Mandelbrot set uses two. Press the update bar after setting this to make the change take effect.
Image Size
The size of the image has a big effect on the time it takes the Fractal Microscope to draw it. If you have a slow computer, you'll want to set this low (100x100). If you have a really fast computer or don't mind a wait, you can try the
higher resolutions. Resolutions higher than 400x400 are available in
the large version of the
Fractal Microscope. Note that a size change does not take effect until you
press update.
Investigate Orbits
This button brings up a separate window that lets you see the path taken by the iteration of a point. This window is complex enough that it gets its own help page.
Questions and Comments
If you still have questions about how to use The Fractal Microscope, or you
have suggestions about how to make it better, send e-mail to
Alton Patrick.