Symmetry: Cultural-historical and Ontological Aspects of Science-Arts Relations; the Natural and Man-made World in an Interdisciplinary Approach

Capa
Springer Science & Business Media, 25/06/2007 - 508 páginas

The first comprehensive book on the topic in half a century explores recent symmetry – and symmetry breaking – related discoveries, and discusses the questions and answers they raise in diverse disciplines: particle and high-energy physics, structural chemistry and the biochemistry of proteins, in genetic code study, in brain research, and also in architectural structures, and business decision making, to mention only a few examples.

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Índice

Introductory chapters 1 Symmetry invariance harmony
1
Historical Survey
35
Symmetry in geometrical decorative art
69
The golden section 97
96
Interdisciplinary applications 5 Fibonacci numbers in nature
109
Perfection and beauty
131
The mystery of fivefold symmetry 171
170
From viruses to fullerene molecules
215
Sight and Hearing
255
Symmetries and symmetry breakings in inanimate nature
271
The road from nature to man 12 Chirality
317
Cerebral asymmetries 351
349
Human Creativity
373
Bibliography
415
Sources of illustrations
443
Subject index 459
458

Symmetry in Inanimate Nature 9 Cosmological symmetries 243
242

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Palavras e frases frequentes

Passagens conhecidas

Página 44 - And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
Página 162 - And philosophers tell us, Callicles, that communion and friendship and orderliness and temperance and justice bind together heaven and earth and gods and men, and that this universe is therefore called Cosmos or order, not disorder or misrule, my friend.
Página 379 - O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem By that sweet ornament which truth doth give! The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem For that sweet odour which doth in it live. The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye As the perfumed tincture of the roses, Hang on such thorns, and play as wantonly When summer's breath their masked buds discloses; But, for their virtue only is their show...
Página 381 - O attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede Of marble men and maidens overwrought, With forest branches and the trodden weed; Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
Página 23 - Yet each, in itself — this was the uncanny, the anti-organic, the life-denying character of them all — each of them was absolutely symmetrical, icily regular in form. They were too regular, as substance adapted to life never was to this degree — the living principle shuddered at this perfect precision, found it deathly, the very marrow of death...
Página 44 - And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub : from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

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