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  4. Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?

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Offline latebind (OP)

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« on: 06/12/2009 22:13:28 »
Besides the very common sphere (planets, stars), can you think of any other examples of natural geometric shapes in the universe or on earth??

Some ones to look for ...

Triangle , square, rectangle, cube, circle...

BTW: Animals can be included, in fact anything that is not made by man can be included!



« Last Edit: 07/12/2009 10:42:36 by latebind »
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Offline LeeE

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #1 on: 07/12/2009 01:41:14 »
Crystalline structures.
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Offline RD

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #2 on: 07/12/2009 02:39:47 »
Quote from: latebind on 06/12/2009 22:13:28
... I find square is difficult

Table salt is close* to square ...

 [ Invalid Attachment ]

http://www.sciencephoto.com

* Perfect geometric shapes are idealized mathematical concepts and don't occur in nature.

* H1104829-Common_salt_crystals,_SEM-SPL.jpg (100.25 kB, 530x530 - viewed 18564 times.)
« Last Edit: 07/12/2009 02:43:07 by RD »
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Offline latebind (OP)

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #3 on: 07/12/2009 10:33:53 »
Quote from: DiscoverDave on 07/12/2009 02:24:31
Quote
Saturn, the sixth planet in our solar system, has caused quite a stir ... when the NASA Cassini Orbiter photographed a six sided geometric shape on the surface of the planet.
http://scienceray.com/astronomy/something-strange-about-saturn/

Great one! WOW!
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Offline latebind (OP)

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #4 on: 07/12/2009 10:36:24 »
Quote from: RD on 07/12/2009 02:39:47
Quote from: latebind on 06/12/2009 22:13:28
... I find square is difficult

Table salt is close* to square ...

http://www.sciencephoto.com

* Perfect geometric shapes are idealized mathematical concepts and don't occur in nature.

Very nice with the salt!

I however have to disagree with your statement ...

"* Perfect geometric shapes are idealized mathematical concepts and don't occur in nature."

I believe that they can and do exist, take for example a simple soap bubble, which can easily be a perfect sphere.
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Offline RD

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #5 on: 07/12/2009 11:51:56 »
Quote from: latebind on 07/12/2009 10:36:24
I however have to disagree with your statement ...

"* Perfect geometric shapes are idealized mathematical concepts and don't occur in nature."

I believe that they can and do exist, take for example a simple soap bubble, which can easily be a perfect sphere.


Nope, gravity makes the soap bubble thicker at the bottom, distorting its shape from the ideal unattainable "perfect sphere".
« Last Edit: 07/12/2009 11:54:53 by RD »
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Offline latebind (OP)

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #6 on: 07/12/2009 17:05:48 »
Also , we do not yet know if atoms are perfect spheres yet, or if electrons are as well. They both could be perfect.

Also a rainbow is a perfect circle, as well as electric fields I assume.
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Offline RD

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #7 on: 08/12/2009 02:27:23 »
Quote from: latebind on 07/12/2009 17:05:48
Also a rainbow is a perfect circle.

Perfect geometric shapes cannot be made of lots of little bits, be they rain-drops or atoms.
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Offline RD

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #8 on: 08/12/2009 02:45:51 »
Rainbows (or garden-hose-bows) can be circular ...

. [ Invalid Attachment ]
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/fz303.htm

but not a perfect circle.
« Last Edit: 08/12/2009 02:54:05 by RD »
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Offline AllenG

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #9 on: 08/12/2009 03:42:59 »
Light travels in a straight line.

Fullerene comes in several geometric shapes.


Waves of all sorts are mathematically definable shapes.



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Offline RD

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #10 on: 08/12/2009 04:04:35 »
Quote from: AllenG on 08/12/2009 03:42:59
Light travels in a straight line.

Provided no mass is nearby ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lens

Quote from: AllenG on 08/12/2009 03:42:59
Waves of all sorts are mathematically definable shapes.

There can be realistic simulations of natural forms (ocean waves, rocks surfaces) using fractal geometry,

but there are no truly perfect geometric forms in nature.

BTW Hokusai apparently was using mathematics in the composition of his wave picture ...

 [ Invalid Attachment ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio


* hokusi.jpg (60.23 kB, 500x335 - viewed 20338 times.)
« Last Edit: 08/12/2009 04:32:14 by RD »
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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #11 on: 08/12/2009 06:18:40 »
Hexagons in a cilinder:

Behold the carbon nanotube



EDIT: oops, I forgot that these tubes don't occur naturally  [:-\]
« Last Edit: 08/12/2009 06:20:15 by Nizzle »
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Offline RD

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #12 on: 08/12/2009 10:02:12 »
Quote from: Nizzle on 08/12/2009 06:18:40
Behold the carbon nanotube

EDIT: oops, I forgot that these tubes don't occur naturally  [:-\]


There are fullerenes in terrestrial soot and interstellar dust, (i.e. carbon nanotubes do occur naturally)

Quote
The not-so-new form of carbon

But it turns out that we've actually been making fullerenes unknowingly for thousands of years – whenever we burn a candle or an oil lamp. The candle's flickering flame vaporises wax molecules containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Some of these molecules burn instantly in the blue heart of the flame. Others move upwards into the yellow tip where the temperature is great enough to split them apart. The result is carbon-rich soot particles that glow, giving off gentle yellow light. Amid this soot are buckyballs.

Buckyballs also exist in interstellar dust and in geological formations on Earth. So while they are new to science they are reasonably common in nature.
http://www.science.org.au/nova/024/024key.htm
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Offline Waldo Pepper

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Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #13 on: 08/12/2009 10:21:51 »
Fractals.

The fern leaf can be expressed as a recursive mathematical sequence.
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Offline Monox D. I-Fly

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #14 on: 11/01/2018 06:39:06 »
Just wondering, do you guys believe that the holes on the beehives' surface are supposed to be regular hexagon?
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Offline Colin2B

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #15 on: 11/01/2018 09:22:57 »
Quote from: Monox D. I-Fly on 11/01/2018 06:39:06
Just wondering, do you guys believe that the holes on the beehives' surface are supposed to be regular hexagon?
It depends what you mean by supposed to be.
The holes start as circles but as the bee builds outwards its body heat softens the wax which begins to flow, surface tension then pulls the cell into the familiar hex structure - remember the cells are not built in isolation, but as large areas by many bees.
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Offline Monox D. I-Fly

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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #16 on: 12/01/2018 02:15:14 »
I mean those religious people like to think that bees like to build their nest in hexagons because it is the most sufficient shape for honey storage, though I suspect that actually the bees initially made the holes as circles and you just confirmed my suspicion.
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Re: Can you find examples of geometric shapes found in the universe or on earth?
« Reply #17 on: 13/01/2018 03:22:50 »
In my primitive understanding, the Schrödinger equation defines a shape.
- And real atoms have this shape
- And real molecules have this shape
- Depending, of course on how many protons and electrons you put into the mix...

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger_equation
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