Research Catalog

Title

Mathematics in nature : modeling patterns in the natural world / John A. Adam.

Author

Adam, John A.

Publication

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [2003], ©2003.

Supplementary Content

• Publisher description
• Inhaltsverzeichnis

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xxii, 360 pages : illustrations (some color); 25 cm

Summary

"Illustrated, written in an informal style, and replete with examples from everyday life, Mathematics in Nature is an excellent and undaunting introduction to the ideas and methods of mathematical modeling. It illustrates how mathematics can be used to formulate and solve puzzles observed in nature and to interpret the solutions. In the process, it teaches such topics as the art of estimation and the effects of scale, particularly what happens as things get bigger. Readers will develop an understanding of the symbiosis that exists between basic scientific principles and their mathematical expressions as well as a deeper appreciation for such natural phenomena as cloud formations, halos and glories, tree heights and leaf patterns, butterfly and moth wings, and even puddles and mud cracks." "Developed out of a university course, this book makes an ideal supplemental text for courses in applied mathematics and mathematical modeling. It will also appeal to mathematics educators and enthusiasts at all levels, and is designed so that it can be dipped into at leisure."--Jacket.

Subjects

• Naturwissenschaften
• Natur
• Mathematisches Modell
• Mathematical models
• Natuur
• Wiskundige modellen

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-355) and index.

Contents

The confluence of nature and mathematical modeling -- Estimation : the power of arithmetic in solving Fermi problems -- Shape, size, and similarity : the problem of scale -- Meteorological optics I : shadows, crepuscular rays, and related optical phenomena -- Meteorological optics II : a "calculus I" approach to rainbows, halos, and glories -- Clouds, sand dunes, and hurricanes -- (Linear) waves of all kinds -- Stability -- Bores and nonlinear waves -- The Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio -- Bees, honeycombs, bubbles, and mud cracks -- River meanders, branching patterns, and trees -- Bird flight -- How did the leopard get its spots?

ISBN

• 0691114293
• 9780691114293
• 9780691127965
• 0691127964

LCCN

2003055616

OCLC

• ocm52729125
• 52729125
• SCSB-5839462

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries