Mathematics in Nature:
Modeling Patterns in the Natural World

John A. Adam

Endorsements:

"Have you wondered how rainbows or sand dunes form? Does it puzzle you why drying mud forms polygonally shaped cracks? Can you explain the patterns on a butterfly’s wings or how birds fly? In this delightful book, John Adam invites us to question and to share his enthusiasm for developing mathematical models to explore a wide range of everyday natural phenomena. Mathematics in Nature can be used as a text on mathematical modeling or as a book to dip into and encourage us to observe and wonder at the beauty of nature. It has the potential of becoming a classic."--Brian Sleeman, University of Leeds.

"This is a book that I will want to keep close to hand so that I will not be stumped by all those seemingly simple yet subtle questions about nature: Why can fleas jump so high? Why is visibility better in rain than in fog? Why does a river meander? How high can trees grow? But it is much more than a compendium of useful facts and explanations. It is the clearest guide I have seen to the art of conceptualizing, simplifying, and modeling natural phenomena—no less than an exegesis on how good quantitative science is done."--Phillip Ball, Consultant Editor, Nature

"Mathematics in Nature leads the calculus-literate reader on a vigorous tour of nature’s visible patterns--from the radiator-sailed dinosaur Dimetrodon to fracturing of dried mud and ceramic glazes, from the dispersion of rainbows and iridescence of beetles to the pearling of spider silk. Eschewing phenomena that are too small to see or too large to grasp, Adam shows how elementary college mathematics, rigorously applied, can give precise expression to everyday natural phenomena. His extraordinary range of examples and meticulous explanations document mathematics’ wonderful capacity to describe and explain nature’s patterns."--Lynn Arthur Steen, St. Olaf College

"This work is outstanding! The color photographs are beautiful. The writing style is splendid."--Robert B. Banks, author of Towing Icebergs, Falling Dominoes, and Other Adventures in Applied Mathematics

"This is a unique, even great book. It is in the spirit of a number of books on topics like symmetry and chaos that look at mathematics in the context of visually striking natural and other phenomena but is more broadly based. The author leads with the phenomena and follows with the math, making the book accessible to a wider audience while still appealing to math students and faculty."--Frank Wattenberg