1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910807359003321

Autore

Ball Philip <1962->

Titolo

Nature's patterns : a tapestry in three parts / / Philip Ball

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford, : Oxford University Press, 2009

ISBN

0-19-157983-1

1-282-38225-X

9786612382253

0-19-152875-7

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (236 pages)

Disciplina

500.201185

Soggetti

Pattern formation (Biology)

Pattern formation (Physical sciences)

Chaotic behavior in systems

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Intro -- Contents -- Preface and acknowledgements -- 1: A Winter's Tale: The Six-Pointed Snowflake -- 2: Tenuous Monsters: Shapes between Dimensions -- 3: Just For the Crack: Clean Breaks and Ragged Ruptures -- 4: Water Ways: Labyrinths in the Landscape -- 5: Tree and Leaf: Branches in Biology -- 6: Web Worlds: Why We're All in This Together -- Epilogue: The Threads of the Tapestry: Principles of Pattern -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

Sommario/riassunto

Philip Ball explores the science of the branching patterns we see in nature, revealing that there is much more to these networks than meets the eye. Whether trees, snowflakes, forked lightning, or systems of arteries and veins, he explains how there are hidden rules at work that can give us extraordinary insights into the nature of life itself.