The Algorithmic Beauty of Sea Shells

• Main Author: Meinhardt, Hans (Author)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009.
• Series: The Virtual Laboratory,
• Subjects: Life sciences.; Fine arts.; Computer graphics.; Bioinformatics.; Computational biology.; Evolutionary biology.; Zoology.; Life Sciences.; Evolutionary Biology.; Fine Arts.; Life Sciences, general.; Computer Appl. in Life Sciences.; Computer Graphics.
• Physical Description: XIV, 269 p. 156 illus., 139 illus. in color. online resource.
• ISBN: 9783540921424
• ISSN: 1431-939X

The patterns on the shells of tropical sea snails are not only compellingly beautiful but also tell a tale of biological development. The decorative patterns are records of their own genesis, which follows laws like those of dune formation or the spread of a flu epidemic. Hans Meinhardt has analyzed the dynamical processes that form these patterns and retraced them faithfully in computer simulations. His book is exciting not only for the astonishing scientific knowledge it reveals but also for its fascinating pictures.