A rectangular slab of polished granite gives an impression of solidity and permanence. With its straight lines and glossy surface, it’s an elegant, humanmade artifact meant to stand as a timeless monument or serve as an impermeable skin for a sleek skyscraper.
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Breaking a granite slab produces jagged fragments with rough edges, reflecting the raw stone’s geological history and structure. Zooming in for a closer view of a broken edge doesn’t make the irregularities disappear. Instead, a fractured edge tends to show the same degree of roughness at different magnifications. Indeed, nature features many irregular shapes that are self-similar–that repeat themselves on different scales within the same object.