Wheatstone's waves: The nineteenth-century creative genius Sir Charles Wheatstone invented a wave machine and other 'philosophical toys' that had a serious purpose in demonstrating the laws of physics
Article Abstract:
Sir Charles Wheatstone was a pioneer of the electric telegraph, and wave motion was the subject of his most compelling didactic toys. He invented a wave machine in the early 1840s, representing the motion of ether particles in plane, circular and elliptical polarization. He provided a complementary realization of the 'musical' principles ruling the molecular vibrations in both light and sound in his Kaleidophone or Phonic Kaleidoscope.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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Feynman's figurations: If a picture is worth a thousand words, a diagram can be worth many lines of complicated algebraic formulas
Article Abstract:
Richard Feynman's statement that no one understands quantum mechanics, can be interpreted in the light of the gravitational pull of physical modelling and graphic picturing in his approach. The Feynman diagrams appear like simple graphics used by physicists for centuries, but within their coordinates Feynman could sidestep long-winded algebraic formulas, bringing all the equations together in one picture.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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A trick of the tiles
Article Abstract:
Geometry in western art predominantly involves space and proportion but in other cultures, most notably Islamic, Chinese and Japanese, artistic geometry comprises of flat patterns in tiling, mosaics and textile designs. The trick was to invent a repeated geometric pattern of considerable complexity without generating 'gaps' that had to be arbitrarily filled.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2005
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