Mathematics in Nature : : Modeling Patterns in the Natural World / / John A. Adam.
From rainbows, river meanders, and shadows to spider webs, honeycombs, and the markings on animal coats, the visible world is full of patterns that can be described mathematically. Examining such readily observable phenomena, this book introduces readers to the beauty of nature as revealed by mathem...
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| Superior document: | Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013 |
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| Place / Publishing House: | Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2011] ©2003 |
| Year of Publication: | 2011 |
| Edition: | Course Book |
| Language: | English |
| Online Access: | |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (392 p.) :; 24 color illus. 84 line illus. 9 tables. |
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Table of Contents:
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Prologue. Why I Might Never Have Written This Book
- Chapter One. The Confluence of Nature and Mathematical Modeling
- Chapter Two. Estimation: The Power of Arithmetic in Solving Fermi Problems
- Chapter Three. Shape, Size, and Similarity: The Problem of Scale
- Chapter Four. Meteorological Optics I: Shadows, Crepuscular Rays, And Related Optical Phenomena
- Chapter Five. Meteorological Optics II: A "Calculus I" Approach to Rainbows, Halos, and Glories
- Chapter Six. Clouds, Sand Dunes, and Hurricanes
- Chapter Seven. (Linear) Waves of All Kinds
- Chapter Eight. Stability
- Chapter Nine. Bores and Nonlinear Waves
- Chapter Ten. The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio (τ)
- Chapter Eleven. Bees, Honeycombs, Bubbles, and Mud Cracks
- Chapter Twelve. River Meanders, Branching Patterns, and Trees
- Chapter Thirteen. Bird Flight
- Chapter Fourteen. How Did the Leopard Get Its Spots?
- Appendix Fractals: An Appetite Whetter. . .
- Bibliography
- Index