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New Scientist 10 March 2007 covered it as their cover page article, titled
Fractal Universe
Supergalaxies that are shaking cosmology
Don't mention the F word
If the universe is shaped like a fractal, it could overturn everything we thought we knew about cosmology. by Amanda Gefter pgs 30 - 33
To give you a feel for it it starts off...
Written across the sky is a secret, a hidden blueprint detailing the original design of the universe itself. The spread of matter throughtout space follows a pattern laid out at the beginning of time and scaled up to incredible proportions by nearly 14 billion years of cosmic expansion. Today that pattern is gradually being decoded by analysing maps of the distribution of the stars, and what has been uncovered could shake modern cosmology to its foundations.
Cosmology is founded on the assumption that when you look at the universe at the vastest scales, matter is spread more or less evenly throughout space. Cosmologists call this a "smooth" structure. But a small band of researchers, led by statsistical physicist Luciano Pietronero of the University of Rome and the Institute of Complex Systems, Italy argues that this assumption is at odds with what we can see. Instead they claim that the galaxies form a structure that isn't smooth at all: some parts of it have lots of matter, others don't, but the matter always falls into the same patterns, in large and small versions, at whatever scale you look. In other words, the universe is fractal.
It's beautifully written and profoundly insightful if correct. This could be the scientific find of the century - the first contender to re-write relativity and link it to quantum mechanics.
Google those names (or spend $7 and get the issue). Also look up French astrophysicist Laurent Nottale at Meudon Observatory in Paris (regarding scale relativity).
Excellent read!
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