Mathematics is pretty

[andrewducker]

Suddenly I want to know more about why the pendulums swing how they do...

(via nancylebov)

Comments

[cybik.livejournal.com]

That's utterly beautiful.

Have you been to the bit of the Science Museum in London which has all sorts of mathematical models? It gives the air of being somewhat forgotten about, but I've spent some happy time in there!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Okay, that is pretty. All it lacks is a cat to help...

*biff*

*biff*

[crm.livejournal.com]

its worth while looking into the harmonic series and additive synthisis if you want to know more about whats actually going on in there.
actually i may have to dust off the noise makers and do an audio example for what the above sounds like in soundwaves.

[momentsmusicaux.livejournal.com]

Pendulums are a something to do with SHM, I vaguely seem to remember.

And the pretty patterns are just that -- you have a bunch of things with slightly different periods that line up and don't.

[0olong.livejournal.com]

Yes, but why do they therefore periodically go into formations of one, two, three or more coherent lines of balls? Is there a name for this specific phenomenon (which turns up in a couple of other interesting places)?

[momentsmusicaux.livejournal.com]

That's just number theory.
It's exactly the same as the way that every so often, multiples of, say, 2, 3, and 5 coincide.

I'd write them out to demonstrate but LJ would eat my formatting...
but you get 6, then 10, then 12, then 15, and so on, then a whopper at 30, and on it goes. Add more primes and the pattern gets even more complex.

[0olong.livejournal.com]

That's not a bad answer. I've seen a few other great visual demonstrations of this effect, but I can't think how to find my favourite one...

[concourse.livejournal.com]

Now let's see that where they're all attached to a string, instead of to a fixed beam. And perhaps replace the cords with springs. Mathsgasm!

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

I want this as my screensaver forever. I don't even use a screensaver. So gorgeous.