This MSc dissertation is a sharp and focussed exploration of the Fibonacci substitution and the mathematical entity it gives rise to, the Fibonacci word. Our investigations are of both an algebraic and a geometric nature. Indeed, it is the combination of the two that gives this paper its overall character. The work is in four parts. Chapter 1 is a brisk tour of necessary basics; definitions, key theorems, and a number of techniques subsequently used extensively. A simple one dimensional drawing rule is investigated in chapter 2 with the aid of what is thought to be an original geometric figure that we will call a “deviation from zero diagram”. A highlight of the chapter is its concluding elementary proof of a non-trivial result. Chapter 3 presents a two dimensional drawing rule. Although selected because it is amongst the simplest form possible, this time the object derived from the rule is a fractal. That this is so is proven and its fractal (Hausdorff) dimension calculated. This fractal is a (possibly previously unexplored) variant of that known in the literature as “The Fibonacci Fractal”. By way of an overall conclusion, the last chapter, the fourth, suggests a few aspects of those preceding it worthy of further analysis.
Martin Hansen
The Open University
May 2022

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© June 2022, Martin Hansen
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