The Golden Ratio

Design and Nature

What is it?

It is the existing proportion in the most diverse natural forms. For centuries it’s been used by the man in architecture, arts, music…

The pursuit for perfection has led mankind to the use of the Golden Ratio.

History

Mathematicians as Pythagoras studied the golden ratio for years and came up with the Phi Φ number.

The golden section can be found in ancient buildings, such as the Egypt’s pyramids, dated from 5.750 b.c, and in historical symbols as the pentagram, which is considered the symbol of perfection, being the symbol where the biggest number of golden ratios are found.

Golden Number

Also known as the Phi Φ number or golden number, was studied by Pitagoras and derived from the golden ratio, also called golden section.

The Φ Phi name started being used in the 20th century.

Calculus

The Golden Rectangle was used by the Greek in their architecture and through it Pythagoras found the Golden Number. The Golden Section can be used in circles, where the golden angle is present, 137,5°, and in pentagons, building a regular pentagon, which contains two golden triangles formed by the golden sections.

Fibonacci Sequence

Known as one of the math’s wonders, the Fibonacci Sequence consists in summing the two last numbers of a sequence to obtain the next number in such sequence (1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2=5…).

The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio are closely related and both can be found abundantly in nature itself.

A number in the Fibonacci Sequence multiplied by the Φ Phi number results, approximately, in the next number of the sequence.

Existence in Nature

The Golden Ratio studied by Pitagoras can be found in many natural elements.

Use in Design

In his search for natural perfection, the man, the art and the design use the Golden Ratio in their constructions.