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The proportions of the Golden Ratio
can also be observed in the complex physical design of the human body, from
the smallest to the grandest scale. Seen from above, each spiral of the double helix of a strand of DNA forms a pentagon (a geometric figure whose ratio of side to diagonal is equal to Phi) and one complete spiral is 34 angstroms (angstrom=one ten-billionth of a meter) long and 21 angstroms wide (two numbers in the Fibonacci sequence whose ratio closely approximates Phi). |
| In the body as a whole, the Golden Ratio
can be seen to relate the entire height to the distance from head to fingertips,
the head….fingertips distance to the distance from head to navel, the head….navel
distance to the width of the shoulders, the length of the forearm, and the
length of the shin bone. Another easily observed example of the Golden
Ratio’s presence in our physical structure is in the length of the digits
in our hands; as seen in the image, each bone is approximately Phi (1.618)
times longer than the one above it. The Golden Ratio has also been
used to describe the proportions and positions of facial features, and the
greater aesthetic attractiveness of some faces has even been linked to their
close-to-exact correspondence with this model of proportions. The Golden Ratio can also be applied to the human body, defining the proportions of human faces and limbs. These rules of proportionality and the Golden Ratio are often used by artists to create realistic images of humans, as well as to design architecture and compose artwork that is pleasing to the eye. Many artists have been inspired by mathematical patterns, and some have even created art specifically about the Fibonacci sequence. |
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