Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Arts and Humanities Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

2009

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

The Beauty Of Mathematics And The Mathematics Of Beauty: Continued Fractions And The Golden Ratio, Jessica Tush Jan 2009

The Beauty Of Mathematics And The Mathematics Of Beauty: Continued Fractions And The Golden Ratio, Jessica Tush

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This project begins with a look at the history of simple continued fractions and how we have arrived where we are today. We then move through a study of simple continued fractions, beginning first with rational numbers and moving to irrational numbers. Continuing further in the pursuit of joining mathematics and art, we define the specific continued fraction that gives rise to the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio~ (phi, pronounced 'Jai"). These two notions form a direct link to art and the properties that we hope to examine. I have taken an analytic approach to showing that the Golden …