Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Patterns in nature are visible regularities of form found in the natural world. These patterns recur in different contexts and can sometimes be modelled mathematically . Natural patterns include symmetries , trees , spirals , meanders , waves , foams , tessellations , cracks and stripes. [ 1 ]
A logarithmic spiral, equiangular spiral, or growth spiral is a self-similar spiral curve that often appears in nature. The first to describe a logarithmic spiral was Albrecht Dürer (1525) who called it an "eternal line" ("ewige Linie").
Approximations of this are found in nature. Spirals which do not fit into this scheme of the first 5 examples: A Cornu spiral has two asymptotic points. The spiral of Theodorus is a polygon. The Fibonacci Spiral consists of a sequence of circle arcs. The involute of a circle looks like an Archimedean, but is not: see Involute#Examples.
For <, spiral-ring pattern; =, regular spiral; >, loose spiral. R is the distance of spiral starting point (0, R) to the center. R is the distance of spiral starting point (0, R) to the center. The calculated x and y have to be rotated backward by ( − θ {\displaystyle -\theta } ) for plotting.
Golden spirals are self-similar. The shape is infinitely repeated when magnified. In geometry, a golden spiral is a logarithmic spiral whose growth factor is φ, the golden ratio. [1] That is, a golden spiral gets wider (or further from its origin) by a factor of φ for every quarter turn it makes.
Crisscrossing spirals of Aloe polyphylla. In botany, phyllotaxis (from Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon) 'leaf' and τάξις (táxis) 'arrangement') [1] or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature.
The Archimedean spiral (also known as Archimedes' spiral, the arithmetic spiral) is a spiral named after the 3rd-century BC Greek mathematician Archimedes. The term Archimedean spiral is sometimes used to refer to the more general class of spirals of this type (see below), in contrast to Archimedes' spiral (the specific arithmetic spiral of ...
The book covers many topics including the effects of scale on the shape of animals and plants, large ones necessarily being relatively thick in shape; the effects of surface tension in shaping soap films and similar structures such as cells; the logarithmic spiral as seen in mollusc shells and ruminant horns; the arrangement of leaves and other ...