Adam Mathematics in Nature

Modeling Patterns in the Natural World
Course Book
ISBN: 978-1-4008-4101-1
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 392 Seiten

John A. Adam is Professor of Mathematics at Old Dominion University, coeditor of A Survey of Models for Tumor-Immune System Dynamics, and a regular contributor to leading journals in applied mathematics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Adam, John A.

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein Populäre Darstellungen der Mathematik
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Numerik und Wissenschaftliches Rechnen Angewandte Mathematik, Mathematische Modelle
• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften, Biologie: Sachbuch, Naturführer

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface: The motivation for the book; Acknowledgments; Credits xiii

Prologue: Why I Might Never Have Written This Book xxi

CHAPTER ONE: The Confluence of Nature and Mathematical Modeling 1

CHAPTER TWO: Estimation: The Power of Arithmetic in Solving Fermi Problems 17

CHAPTER THREE: Shape, Size, and Similarity: The Problem of Scale 31

CHAPTER FOUR: Meteorological Optics I: Shadows, Crepuscular Rays, and Related Optical Phenomena 57

CHAPTER FIVE: Meteorological Optics II: A "Calculus I" Approach to Rainbows, Halos, and Glories 80

CHAPTER SIX: Clouds, Sand Dunes, and Hurricanes 118

CHAPTER SEVEN: (Linear) Waves of All Kinds 139

CHAPTER EIGHT: Stability 173

CHAPTER NINE: Bores and Nonlinear Waves 194

CHAPTER TEN: The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio 213

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Bees, Honeycombs, Bubbles, and Mud Cracks 231

CHAPTER TWELVE: River Meanders, Branching Patterns, and Trees 254

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Bird Flight 295

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: HowDid the Leopard Get Its Spots? 309

APPENDIX: Fractals: An Appetite Whetter. 336

BIBLIOGRAPHY 341

INDEX 357

Über Autor(innen)

John A. Adam is Professor of Mathematics at Old Dominion University, coeditor of A Survey of Models for Tumor-Immune System Dynamics, and a regular contributor to leading journals in applied mathematics.