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Wacław Sierpiński
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Sierpiński gasketPolish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński described the fractal that bears his name in 1915, although the design as an art motif dates at least to 13th-century Italy. Begin with a solid equilateral triangle, and remove the triangle formed by connecting the midpoints of each side. The midpoints of the sides of the resulting three internal triangles are connected to form three new triangles that are then removed to form nine smaller internal triangles. The process of cutting away triangular pieces continues indefinitely, producing a region with a Hausdorf dimension of a bit more than 1.5 (indicating that it is more than a one-dimensional figure but less than a two-dimensional figure).
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Wacław Sierpiński: References & Edit History

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Anniversary information added. Mar 10, 2026
Anniversary information added. Oct 17, 2025
First paragraph modernization. Apr 26, 2024
Modified title of Web site: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive - Biography of Wacław Sierpiński. Jan 18, 2017
Added new Web site: MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive - Biography of Wacław Sierpiński.
  • Gaurav Shukla
 Nov 29, 2006
New article added. Sep 28, 2006
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