Benoit Mandelbrot, a mathematics pioneer and the father of the principle of fractal geometry, has died in the US at the age of 85.

The fractal principle uses mathematical formulas to attempt to understand the complexity of the natural world.

In his seminal 1982 work The Fractal Geometry of Nature, Mandelbrot argued that seemingly random patterns could in fact be the same infinitely repeated shape.

He once used a cauliflower to describe the mathematical principle, pointing out that the shape of the vegetable was repeated over and over.

The mathematical principle has been used to measure shapes previously thought unmeasurable, including coastlines and mountains.

Mandelbrot also applied the concept to economics, but he was critical of the global financial system, believing it to be too complex to properly function.

Fractal geometry can be depicted in intricate and colourful computer designs which have become popular as artworks in their own right.

One fractal variation was even named after Mandelbrot.