In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. At least since the Renaissance, many artists and architects have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio which is supposed to be aesthetically pleasing. Quantitatively this is the ratio of 1.6180339887 to 1.
Scientist have found the golden ratio expressed in the arrangement of branches along the stems of plants, the veins in leaves skeletons of animals and the branchings of their veins and nerves. It has even been seen in the proportions of chemical compounds and the geometry of crystals.
So truth is beauty and beauty is truth?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratioScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2010) — Researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), in cooperation with colleagues from Oxford and Bristol Universities, as well as the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, have for the first time observed a nanoscale symmetry hidden in solid state matter. They have measured the signatures of a symmetry showing the same attributes as the golden ratio famous from art and architecture.
By tuning the system and artificially introducing more quantum uncertainty the researchers observed that the chain of atoms acts like a nanoscale guitar string. Dr. Radu Coldea from Oxford University, who is the principal author of the paper and drove the international project from its inception a decade ago until the present, explains: "Here the tension comes from the interaction between spins causing them to magnetically resonate. For these interactions we found a series (scale) of resonant notes: The first two notes show a perfect relationship with each other. Their frequencies (pitch) are in the ratio of 1.618…, which is the golden ratio famous from art and architecture." Radu Coldea is convinced that this is no coincidence. "It reflects a beautiful property of the quantum system -- a hidden symmetry. Actually quite a special one called E8 by mathematicians, and this is its first observation in a material," he explains.
Golden Ratio Discovered in Quantum World: Hidden Symmetry Observed for the First Time in Solid State Matter
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