The Fibonacci sequence explained
A project by Manchester scientists researching mathematical patterns in certain flowers have found a proven link between nature and number sequences such as the Fibonacci sequence, where each number is equal to the sum of the two before it.
The scientists, from the Museum of Science and Industry and the city’s university, were attempting to test the theory of Alan Turing, a computer pioneer based in Manchester, who died in 1954. Turing was the director of the computing laboratory at the Uni of Manchester, but unfortunately died before he could further test his theories on the Fibonacci sequence.
Sunflowers were grown by hundreds of volunteers around the world, totalling 557 sunflowers from 7 countries. The experiment showed that 82% off the flowers collected for The Turing’s Sunflowers Project were conforming to the Fibonacci sequence in their complex structures.
Jonathan Swinton, a professor, said of the research; “It’s the most comprehensive information we have so far on Fibonacci numbers in sunflowers and we have proved what Alan Turing observed when he looked at a few sunflowers in his own garden in Wilmslow.”
Many other scientists, including Da Vinci, studied this phenomenon in the leaves, seeds and stems of plants at length. A paper will be published on the projects results so further studied can be carried out and we can find out even more about these amazing patterns in plants.