An introduction to a primitive mollusc, a triumph of natural engineering.

Spirals in nature

What does mathematics have to do with nature or art? The video tracks in this album trace the origin of the mathematics of chaos and describe how the chance discovery of fractals became the basis for some real - and revolutionary - commercial applications such as the fax and the modem. A closer look at ancient fabric designs and the spiral of a nautilus shell also reveals repeating patterns that can be analysed in a mathematical way. This material forms part of The Open University course MS221 Exploring mathematics.

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Spirals in nature

Spirals in nature

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