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November 16, 2011

How Leonardo da Vinci Explained Trees

Kim Krieger, Science Now


AP Photo

The graceful taper of a tree trunk into branches, boughs, and twigs is so familiar that few people notice what Leonardo da Vinci observed: A tree almost always grows so that the total thickness of the branches at a particular height is equal to the thickness of the trunk. Until now, no one has been able to explain why trees obey this rule. But a new study may have the answer.

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TAGGED: fractals, wind, trees, mathematics

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