Patterns in nature

Patterns in nature are visible regularities of form found in the <a href="/facts/Nature/CRC3KQUg">natural world</a>. These <a href="/facts/Patterns/mzD7uLQa">patterns</a> recur in different contexts and can sometimes be <a href="/facts/Modelled_mathematically/CGhyuxgz">modelled mathematically</a>. Natural patterns include <a href="/facts/Symmetries/hpu7DK8p">symmetries</a>, <a href="/facts/Trees/HVVn3srN">trees</a>, <a href="/facts/Spirals/4R331aba">spirals</a>, <a href="/facts/Meanders/XIGCmCq9">meanders</a>, <a href="/facts/Wave/fU0HH6St">waves</a>, <a href="/facts/Foams/kGrXWWcb">foams</a>, <a href="/facts/Tessellations/7BWDywXC">tessellations</a>, <a href="/facts/Fracture/nxDNAj0d">cracks</a> and stripes. Early <a href="/facts/Greek_philosophers/LWEkp8JX">Greek philosophers</a> studied pattern, with <a href="/facts/Plato/jGtT1UD5">Plato</a>, <a href="/facts/Pythagoras/8oe8UgCj">Pythagoras</a> and <a href="/facts/Empedocles/C6sl6Lz6">Empedocles</a> attempting to explain order in nature. The modern understanding of visible patterns developed gradually over time.
In the 19th century, the Belgian physicist <a href="/facts/Joseph_Plateau/mve0khny">Joseph Plateau</a> examined <a href="/facts/Soap_film/JCTzDK23">soap films</a>, leading him to formulate the concept of a <a href="/facts/Minimal_surface/Fy7VkrLQ">minimal surface</a>. The German biologist and artist <a href="/facts/Ernst_Haeckel/osqrW7hB">Ernst Haeckel</a> painted hundreds of <a href="/facts/Marine_biology/3pNR9o6L">marine organisms</a> to emphasise their <a href="/facts/Symmetry/hpu7DK8p">symmetry</a>. Scottish biologist <a href="/facts/D%27Arcy_Thompson/gjTsQzJ5">D'Arcy Thompson</a> pioneered the study of growth patterns in both plants and animals, showing that simple equations could explain spiral growth. In the 20th century, the British mathematician <a href="/facts/Alan_Turing/klov9b6g">Alan Turing</a> predicted mechanisms of <a href="/facts/Morphogenesis/zHJh8Eae">morphogenesis</a> which give rise to <a href="/facts/Turing_patterns/aI05dj4m">patterns</a> of spots and stripes. The Hungarian biologist <a href="/facts/Aristid_Lindenmayer/PJjArHzE">Aristid Lindenmayer</a> and the French American mathematician <a href="/facts/Beno%C3%AEt_Mandelbrot/fa8tKP93">Benoît Mandelbrot</a> showed how the mathematics of <a href="/facts/Fractals/sXj38JeN">fractals</a> could create plant growth patterns.
<a href="/facts/Mathematics/pxTouaz4">Mathematics</a>, <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a> and <a href="/facts/Chemistry/SrNqkGVm">chemistry</a> can explain patterns in nature at different levels and scales. Patterns in living things are explained by the <a href="/facts/Biology/1M1ee3pB">biological</a> processes of <a href="/facts/Natural_selection/JXTte6en">natural selection</a> and <a href="/facts/Sexual_selection/AjDd8Tam">sexual selection</a>. Studies of <a href="/facts/Pattern_formation/HLpWMVt1">pattern formation</a> make use of <a href="/facts/Computer_models/Re6o8vzN">computer models</a> to simulate a wide range of patterns.

Patterns in nature open-in-new

Patterns in nature