Self-Made Tapestry : Pattern Formation in Nature

Ball, Philip

ISBN 10: 0198502435 / ISBN 13: 9780198502432

Published by Oxford University Press, 2001

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Synopsis:

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 resembles the stripes of a zebra or a marine fish. In the trellis-like shells of microscopic sea creatures we see the same angles and intersections as for bubble walls in a foam. The forks of lightning mirror the branches of a river or a tree. 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, local interactions between its component parts - be they grains of sand, diffusing molecules or living cells. And the products of self- organization are typically universal patterns: spirals, spots, and stripes, branches, honeycombs. This book explains, in non-technical language, and with profuse illustrations, how nature's patterns are made.

About the Author: Philip Ball is an editor at Nature magazine.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Self-Made Tapestry : Pattern Formation in ...
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication Date: 2001
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: good