Shapes: Nature's Patterns: A Tapestry in Three Parts (Natures Patterns)

319 Pages·2009·11.42 MB·English

by  Philip Ball

Nature’s Patterns
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Nature’s
Patterns
A Tapestry in Three Parts
Philip Ball
Nature’s Patterns is a trilogy composed of
Shapes, Flow, and Branches
1
3
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Shapes
T
HERE is beauty to be found in regularity: the same element
repeating again and again, typically with geometric order.
There is no better example than the honeycomb, a miracle of
hexagonal perfection. This sort of pattern is a lattice. On a leopard’s
pelt, the lattice melts but a pattern remains: spots spaced at more or
lessequaldistancesbutnolongerinneatrows.Thereisacomparable
order in stripes and concentric bands: a succession rather strictly
enforcedontheangelfish,butmorelooselyappliedinthemeandering,
merging stripes of the zebra or of sand ripples. The means by which
these natural patterns are constructed may tell us something about
howthefarmorecomplicatedformsofanimalsandplantsarecreated
by a progressive division and subdivision of space, orchestrated by
nothingmorethansimplephysicalforces.
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Contents
Prefaceandacknowledgements ix
1: TheShapesofThings 1
PatternandForm
2: LessonsoftheBeehive 33
BuildingwithBubbles
3: MakingWaves 103
StripesinaTestTube
4: WrittenontheBody 151
Hiding,Warning,andMimicking
5: RhythmsoftheWild 200
CrystalCommunities
6: HowDoesYourGardenGrow? 226
TheMathematicsofaDaisy
7: UnfoldingtheEmbryo 257
TheFormationofBodyPlans
Appendices 287
Bibliography 295
Index 303
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Preface and
acknowledgements
A
FTER my1999bookTheSelf-MadeTapestry:PatternFormation
inNaturewentoutofprint,I’doftenbecontactedbywould-be
readers asking where they could get hold of a copy. That was
how I discovered that copies were changing hands in the used-book
marketforconsiderablymorethantheoriginalcoverprice.Whilethat
wasgratifyinginitsway,Iwouldfarratherseethematerialaccessibleto
anyone whowanted it. So Iapproached Latha Menon at Oxford Uni-
versityPresstoaskaboutareprinting.ButLathahadsomethingmore
substantialinmind,andthatishowthisnewtrilogycameintobeing.
Quite rightly, Latha perceived that the original Tapestry was neither
conceivednorpackagedtothebestadvantage ofthematerial.Ihope
thisformatdoesitmorejustice.
The suggestion of partitioning the material between three volumes
sounded challenging at first, but once I saw how it might be done,
Irealizedthatthisofferedastructurethatcouldbringmorethematic
organizationtothetopic.Eachvolumeisself-containedanddoesnot
depend on one having read the others, although there is inevitably
somecross-referencing.AnyonewhohasseenTheSelf-MadeTapestry
will find some familiar things here, but also plenty that is new. In
adding that material, I have benefited from the great generosity of
many scientists who have given images, reprints and suggestions.
I am particularly grateful to Sean Carroll, Iain Couzin, and Andrea
Rinaldo for critical readings of some of the new text. Latha set me
moreworkthanI’dperhapsanticipated,butIremaindeeplyindebted
to her for her vision of what these books might become, and her
encouragementinmakingthathappen.
PhilipBall
London,October2007