Fearful Symmetry: Is God a Geometer?

by Ian Stewart (Author), M. Golubitsky (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1992

  $3.47

  Many philosophers have been impressed by the patterns in the physical world and have seen God as a mathematician. However, it is the breaking of symmetry that is responsible for nature's patterns. This work examines an array of natural phenomena to show the importance of broken symmetries. In doing so, it addresses some of the deepest concepts of modern physics - the arrow of time, the handedness of life, and the origins of biological form.

• Used

  Paperback
  1993

  $3.47

  Symmetry is one of the most powerful and wide-ranging of mathematical ideas with recent work on symmetry breaking, when symmetrical patterns are slightly altered or corrupted, throwing up an extraordinary range of applications and natural examples, from the stripes on a tiger's back to the territorial patterns of fish and to the structure of viruses. This book looks at the applications of symmetry and symmetry breaking to subjects as diverse as weather patterns, crystal structures, the buckling of beams and particle physics.