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Carregando... The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Naturede Philip Ball
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Registre-se no LibraryThing tpara descobrir se gostará deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. took 3years and bees hives r c00l ( ) Philip ball provides a comprehensive overview of the Emergent phenomenon of pattern formation in nature. His discussions range from the physical processes like the minimal surfaces in bubbles and foams, BZ reactions, convection cells, mineral dendrite formations, branching of rivers to the very similar patterns formed in the biological systems like the pattern formation on the hides of zebras and giraffes, branching patterns in trees, retinal nerves etc., and the patterns in communities of animals and humans He finally concludes with a chapter on the general principles governing pattern formation. Why do so many different physical phenomenon produce very similar patterns? One theme we can see throughout this book is an argument against the gene-centric reductionism in modern biology. That the presence of some frequently repeating mathematical patterns in the nature like reaction-diffusion systems, fractals, spirals that can be generated by Fibonacci ratios, suggests some physical determinism in morphogenesis. Highly recommended. some beautiful illustrations are provided and the author assumes no previous knowledge on the part of the reader.
"an interdisciplinary look at the patterns in the world around us, be they formed by the elements, flora, fauna, or humans. [...] this work does a remarkable job of presenting the hows and whys."
Why do similar patterns and forms appear in nature in settings that seem to bear no relation to one another? The windblown ripples of desert sand follow a sinuous course that resemles the stripes of a zebra or a marine fish. In the trellis-like shells of microscopic sea creatures we see thesame angles and intersections as for bubble walls in a foam. The forks of lightning mirror the branches of a river or a tree. l This book explains why these are no coincidences. Nature commonly weaves its tapestry by self-organization, employing no master plan or blueprint but by simple, localinteractions between its component parts - be they grains of sand, diffusing molecules or living cells - give rise to spontaneous patters that are at the same time complex and beautiful. Many of these patterns are universal: spirals, spots, and stripes, branches, honeycombs. Philip Ball conducts aprofusely illustrated tour of this gallery, and reveals the secrets of how nature's patterns are made. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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Google Books — Carregando... GênerosClassificação decimal de Dewey (CDD)571.3Natural sciences and mathematics Life Sciences, Biology Physiology and related subjects Anatomy and morphologyClassificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos E.U.A. (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia:
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