All demos

Plate I · Fibonacci in Nature

A study in growth: the nautilus shell, the sunflower head, and the rabbits of 1202, drawn on millimetre paper. Print it, project it, frame it.

FIBONACCI IN NATUREFig. 1: the nautilus · Fig. 2: the sunflower · Fig. 3: the rabbits of 1202PLATE Icentre 80mm, 120mmFig. 1. Nautilus pompiliusReal shells grow ~1.3×per quarter-turn; the golden spiralis a mathematical ideal.21 spiral arms one way, 34 the otherFig. 2. Helianthus: seeds packedat the golden angle 137.5°Fig. 3. Lepus: pairs of rabbits per month,after Liber Abaci, A.D. 12021121324355687138211, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 …Each number is the sum of the two that precede it: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 …The nautilus keeps one steady ratio as it grows;the sunflower’s spirals and the rabbits’ months count in Fibonacci numbers.

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