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Research Nature Numbers

1. The document discusses Ian Stewart's book "Nature's Numbers" which explores the mathematical concepts underlying various natural phenomena. It provides a historical overview of how investigations into violin vibrations led to breakthroughs in electromagnetism, radio, and other technologies. 2. Symmetry is explored, defined as any transformation that leaves an object invariant. The most important symmetries are reflections, rotations, and translations. 3. Oscillation patterns in animals are discussed, explaining how quadrupeds move via staggered neural oscillations in their legs and muscles. 4. The book concludes by examining the complexity underlying simple natural phenomena like falling water drops, population dynamics, and flower petal patterns, and how chaos

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John Marwyn Lerum
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78 views

Research Nature Numbers

1. The document discusses Ian Stewart's book "Nature's Numbers" which explores the mathematical concepts underlying various natural phenomena. It provides a historical overview of how investigations into violin vibrations led to breakthroughs in electromagnetism, radio, and other technologies. 2. Symmetry is explored, defined as any transformation that leaves an object invariant. The most important symmetries are reflections, rotations, and translations. 3. Oscillation patterns in animals are discussed, explaining how quadrupeds move via staggered neural oscillations in their legs and muscles. 4. The book concludes by examining the complexity underlying simple natural phenomena like falling water drops, population dynamics, and flower petal patterns, and how chaos

Uploaded by

John Marwyn Lerum
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LERUM,WYNCEL GENN D.

BMST 12 –A3

NATURES NUMBERS
IAN STEWART 

1. From violins to videos in Mathematics 

 He gives a fascinating historical recap of how initial investigations into the way a violin
string vibrates gave rise to formulae and equations which turned out to be useful in
mapping electricity and magnetism, which turned out to be aspects of the same
fundamental force, electromagnetism. It was understanding this which underpinned the
invention of radio, radar, TV etc and Stewart’s account describes the contributions made
by Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hertz and Guglielmo Marconi. 
 Stewart makes the point that mathematical theory tends to start with the simple and
immediate and grow ever-more complicated. This is because of a basic approach
common in lots of mathematics which is that, you have to start somewhere. 

2. Broken symmetry in Mathematics 

 A symmetry of an object or system is any transformation that leaves it invariant. There


are many types of symmetry. The most important ones are reflections, rotations and
translations. 

3. The rhythm of life in Mathematics 

 The nature of oscillation and Hop bifurcation (if a simplified system wobbles, then


so must the complex system it is derived from) leads into a discussion of how
animals – specifically animals with legs – move, which turns out to be by
staggered or syncopated oscillations, oscillations of muscles triggered by neural
circuits in the brain. 
 This is a subject Stewart has written about elsewhere and is something of an
expert on. Thus he tells us that the seven types of quadrupedal gait are: the trot,
pace, bound, walk, rotary gallop, transverse gallop, and canter. 

4. Drops, Dynamics & Daisies in Mathematics 

 The book ends by drawing some philosophical conclusions.

• Chaos theory has all sorts of implications but the one Stewart
closes on is this: the world is not chaotic; if anything, it is
boringly predictable. And at the level of basic physics and
maths, the laws which seem to underpin it are also schematic
and simple. And yet, what we are only really beginning to
appreciate is how complicated things are in the middle.
• It is as if nature can only get from simple laws (like Newton’s
incredibly simple law of thermodynamics) to fairly simple
outcomes (the orbit of the planets) via almost incomprehensibly
complex processes.

• To end, Stewart gives us three examples of the way apparently


‘simple’ phenomena in nature derive from stupefying
complexity:

• what exactly happens when a drop of water falls off a tap

• computer modelling of the growth of fox and rabbit populations

• why petals on flowers are arranged in numbers derived from


the Fibonacci sequence
• In all three cases the underlying principles seem to be
resolvable into easily stated laws and functions – and in our
everyday lives we see water dropping off taps or flowerheads
all the time – and yet the intermediate steps between simple
mathematical principles and real world embodiment turn out to
be mind-bogglingly complex.
5. Do dice play god in Mathematics 

• This section covers Stewart's interpretation of tumult


hypothesis.
• Chaotic conduct complies with deterministic laws, yet is
sporadic to the point that to the undeveloped eye it looks
essentially irregular. Disorder is not complicated, patternless
conduct; it is substantially more unpretentious. Mayhem
is apparently complicated, apparently patternless conduct that
really has a basic, deterministic clarification.
• 19th century researchers believed that, in the event that you
knew the beginning conditions, and afterward the guidelines
overseeing any framework, you could totally foresee the results.
During the 1970s and 80s it turned out to be progressively
certain that this wasn't right. It is outlandish in light of the fact
that you can never characterize the beginning conditions
with complete certainty.
• Thus all certifiable practices are dependent upon 'affectability to
beginning conditions'. Fromminuscule divergences at the
beginning stage, disastrous contrasts may in the end - arise in
develop frameworks.
• Stewart proceeds to clarify the idea of 'stage space' created by
Henri Poincaré: this is a fanciful numerical space that speaks to
all potential movements in a given unique framework.
The phase space is the 3-D spot where you plot the conduct to
make the phase representation. Rather than characterizing a
recipe and stressing over recognizing each number of the
conduct, the general shape can be resolved.

• Much utilization of stage representations has demonstrated that


dynamic frameworks will in general have set shapes which
arise and which frameworks move towards. These are
called attractors.

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