The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature
The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature
复制标题
自制挂毯:大自然中图案的形成
DOI:
10.5860/choice.36-5132
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发表时间:
1999
影响因子:
3.7
通讯作者:
["P. Ball
中科院分区:
文献类型:
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作者:
["P. Ball
From the Publisher:
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 geometry as in the bubble walls of foam, Forks of lightning mirror the branches of a river network or a tree.
This book explains why these are not coincidences. Nature commonly weaves its tapestry without any master plan or blueprint. Instead, these designs build themselves by self-organization. The interactions between the component parts -- whether they be grains of sand, molecules or living cells -- give rise to spontaneous patterns that are at the same time complex and beautiful. Many of these patterns are universal, recurring again and again in the natural order: spirals, spots, stripes, branches, honeycombs. Philip Ball conducts a profusely illustrated tour of this gallery, and reveals the secrets of how nature's patterns are made.
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