C5 - Symmetric chemistry

C5 - Symmetric chemistry

Among the fascinating abundance of shapes in nature, the spiral stands out as a widespread structural element. Think of the form of snail—shells, of the order of sunflower kernels, of hurricane funnels or of distant galaxies. In aqueous solutions, chemical reactions may also develop spiral-shaped patterns, as the chemical waves in the Belousov—Zhabotinskii reaction show.
C3, with its relief structure is based on a chemical spiral which rotates around a center and at the same time expands two-dimensionally within a thin layer of solution. The distance between two wave-fronts is about 1 mm.
Precise measurement of the center of rotation - located at the inner side of the spiral tip (C4) - and analysis of lines of equal concentration (C5) reveal that the geometry of the wave develops according to the rules of an Archimedian spiral.

Pattern formation (Physical sciences); Physics; Visualization; Nonlinear Dynamics; Pattern Formation; Chemical Waves; Reaction Diffusion Systems; Nonlinear Waves; Traveling Waves; Chemical Oscillations; Oscillating chemical reactions;

C3 - The rotating chemical spiral
C4 - The spiral tip turning around the center

Müller, Stefan C.

Plesser, Theo

Dynamic Pattern Formation in Chemistry and Mathematics: Aesthetics in the Sciences: Catalogue of an Exhibition

Müller, Stefan C; Plesser, Theo; Hess, Benno; Max-Planck-Institut für Ernährungsphysiologie Dortmund, West-Germany;
Markus, Mario;

1988

Laupenmühlen Druck, Bochum

Still Image