Structure: In Science and ArtWendy Pullan, Harshad Bhadeshia Bridges and buildings, DNA, the periodic table, flora and fauna, machines, circuits, human beings and the societies of which they are part, even thoughts and ideas - all can be understood as particular structures which are part of our world and our experience of it. Yet the notion of structure, whether organic or inorganic, natural or artificial, is far more intangible. Too often the implication is of something rigid and complete, yet structure and the process of structuring can be both open and dynamic. These eight essays consider structure as an inclusive, open-ended theme offering itself to interpretation within many disciplines of the sciences, arts and humanities. Each essay represents an attempt to ponder and assess the role of structure in a particular discipline by an author eminent in that field. In doing so, the essays become acts of 'structuring structure', true to the rich, dynamic nature of the topic. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
alloy aluminium amino acids Athanasius Kircher atoms ballet band Bharatha Natyam body bonds bridge brittle Butterworth and Clarke Cambridge chemical choreographer Cited in Butterworth classical dance complex composition concrete construction contemporary dance Cordierite crack crystal crystalline cultural Dancer Darwin College defects electrons elementary particles energy engineering evolution evolutionary example fabricated failure falsework fantasy FIGURE Fludd's forces fracture function garden gemstones gene Goya Haeckel's human ideas images imagination internal ions John Meurig Thomas Kircher land landscape architecture large number London magic lantern material mechanics metal metaphor microstructure military mind's eye minerals modern movement old conflicts organised phantasmagoria phylotypic physical political pressure vessel produce properties proteins quantum shape Shobana Jeyasingh silicon Simon Conway Morris solid space squid steel stress struc structure Teletubbies temperature tetrahedra third nature tion ture types University valence band valency vertebrates wars X-ray Yosemite zeolite