The Unreasonable Beauty of Mathematics [Slide Show]
Mathematical structures both natural and man-made dazzle the eye
![The Unreasonable Beauty of Mathematics [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/05A502EE-A2A7-4148-AACCA472943E4EF2.jpg?w=590&h=393)
The Unreasonable Beauty of Mathematics [Slide Show]
- KNOT THEORY: The trefoil is the simplest knot in mathematicians' classification. Knot theory goes back to the 19th century, when physicists briefly thought knots might explain atoms; mathematicians continued to develop the theory for its inherent interest... Robert G. Scharein
- MÖBIUS PROTEIN: The major component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, sometimes known as "good cholesterol"), apolipoprotein A-I, consists of a kinked helix about 12.5 nanometers in its longest dimension... Mike Tyka, University of Washington. Image was rendered using PyMol
- HEAVENLY SPIRALS: Spiral patterns occur throughout nature, perhaps most dramatically in spiral galaxies. This pair of galaxies has particularly unusual spiral patterns that are presumably the result of the gravitational tidal forces between them... NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
- DOUBLE SPIRAL: Paul Nylander maintains an incredible collection of mathematical art, along with the Mathematica code to recreate it. Paul Nylander
- FRACTAL BROCCOLI: John Ostrowick, responding to our Twitter call for examples of natural mathematical beauty, suggested Romanesco broccoli. This photo by Jon Sullivan was selected by Wikipedia users as one of the most spectacular on that site... Jon Sullivan
- FRACTAL BUBBLES: Richard Taylor specializes in discovering the occurrence of fractals in the world. (He has argued that fractal geometry can tell a real Jackson Pollack painting from a knock-off.) He took this picture at the edge of the pond in Sydney, Australia... Richard Taylor, University of Oregon
