The Parsimonious Universe: Shape and Form in the Natural World

Hildebrandt, Stefan; Tromba, Anthony

The variety of sizes, shapes, and irregularities in nature is endless. Through illustrations and text, the authors of The Parsimonious Universe describe the efforts by scientists and mathematicians since the Renaissance to identify and describe the basic laws underlying the shape of natural forms. Can one set of laws account for both the symmetry and irregularity as well as the infinite variety of nature's designs? Complete answers to these questions are likely novel to be discovered. Still, down through the ages, the investigation of form and pattern in nature has yielded some fascinating and surprising insights. Out of this inquiry comes a specific branch of mathematics - the calculus of variations - which explores questions of optimization (finding designs that maximize or minimize a particular quantity).

Details

Published by: Copernicus

Publication Date: 2012-07-23

Format: Paperback

ISBN-13: 9781461275329

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-2424-2

Dimensions: 235cm x191cm

Pages: 330