1995 | Book
The Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells
Author: Hans Meinhardt
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Book Series : The Virtual Laboratory
Included in: Professional Book Archive
1995 | Book
Author: Hans Meinhardt
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Book Series : The Virtual Laboratory
Included in: Professional Book Archive
For centuries scientists have tried to understand the growth and development of multicellular organisms. More recently, with the help of mathematical models and computerized simulations, they have discovered algorithmic patterns and models that seem to describe the dynamic processes in which organisms grow, reproduce, and respond to external factors. In this fascinating and beautifully illustrated book, Hans Meinhardt explains and illustrates these structural growth patterns in the case of sea shells. The book delightfully conveys the intuitive appeal and the "touch of magic" in this research. A diskette packaged with the book contains a program that allows the reader to run the simulations on a PC. New patterns can be generated interactively to provide an insight into the process of biological pattern formation.