This richly illustrated book explores the fascinating and ubiquitous occurrence of spirals and vortices in human culture and in nature. Spiral forms have been used as elements in the arts for thousands of years, whereas their role in nature and science - from DNA and sea shells to galaxies - is still a topic of investigation in numerous fields. Following an introduction to the cultural history of spiral forms, the book presents contributions from leading experts, who describe the origins, mechanisms and dynamics of spirals and vortices in their special fields. As a whole the book provides a valuable source of information, while also taking the reader on an aesthetic and scientific journey through the world of spiral forms.

Autorentext

Stefan C. Müller is an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Magdeburg, Germany. After obtaining his doctoral degree at the University of Göttingen in 1978, he spent 3 years as postdoctoral researcher in the USA, first at MIT and then at Stanford University in California. He was subsequently a researcher at the Max-Planck-Institute in Dortmund until 1994, when he transferred his research to Magdeburg.

Kinko Tsuji is a physical chemist. She obtained her doctoral degree at the University of Tokyo in 1976. As a researcher she worked at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and at the Max-Planck-Institutes in Munich and in Dortmund. Since 1981 she has worked at the company Shimadzu Europa GmbH, developing applications of ultra high-speed cameras. Furthermore, she was active in the Japan Business Council in Europe in Brussels and served as a chairperson of the planning committee.

Inhalt

Part 1 Introduction (S. Müller and/or N.N.).- Cultural History.- The Arts.- Appearance in Nature.- Part 2. Mathematical Basis (A. Polezhaev, Moscow).- Part 3. Laboratory experiments.- Liesegang Structures (S. Dietrich, TU Berlin).- Chemical oscillations and spiral waves (M. Hauser, Uni Magdeburg).- Heterogeneous catalysis (H. Rotermund, Canada).- Stability issues and external control (O. Steinbock, University of Florida).-Part 4. Applications to Biology, Physiology, and Medicine.- Patterns in the slime mould (C. Weijer, University of Dundee, Scotland).- Calcium waves in biological cells (M. Falcke, Max-Delbrück-Centrum, Berlin).- Dynamics of the heart (A. Panfilov, University of Gent, Belgium).- Waves during epileptic seizures (G. Baier, University College London, U.K.).- Patterns in eyes and on tongues (N. Manz, Wooster-College, Wooster, Ohio, U.S.A.).- Part 5 Theoretical Considerations.- Kinematic approach (V. Zykov, MPI Göttingen).- Reaction-Diffusion structures (M. Bär, PTB Berlin).- Other models, e.g. Cellular Automata (N.N.).- Part 6 Universality (N.N.)