Fibonacci Numbers

Fun with Fibonacci Numbers: Applications in Nature and Music
Gareth E. Roberts
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
Holy Cross Summer Research Lunch Seminar July 11, 2012
G. Roberts (Holy Cross)
Fun with Fibonacci Numbers
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The Fibonacci Numbers
Denition
The Fibonacci Numbers are the numbers in the sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, . . . . This is a recursive sequence dened by the equations F1 = 1, F2 = 1, and Fn = Fn1 + Fn2 for all n 3.
Here, Fn represents the n-th Fibonacci number (n is called an index). Examples: F4 = 3, F10 = 55, F102 = F101 + F100 .
Often called the Fibonacci Series or Fibonacci Sequence.
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Fibonacci Numbers: History Numbers named after Fibonacci by Edouard Lucas, a 19th century French mathematician who studied and generalized them. Fibonacci was a pseudonym for Leonardo Pisano (1175-1250). The phrase lius Bonacci translates to son of Bonacci. Father was a diplomat, so he traveled extensively. Fascinated with computational systems. Writes important texts reviving ancient mathematical skills. Described later as the solitary ame of mathematical genius during the middle ages (V. Hoggatt). Imported the Hindu-arabic decimal system to Europe in his book Liber Abbaci (1202). Latin translation: book on computation.
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The Rabbit Problem Key Passage from the 3rd section of Fibonaccis Liber Abbaci: A certain man put a pair of rabbits in a place surrounded on all sides by a wall. How many pairs of rabbits can be produced from that pair in a year if it is supposed that every month each pair begets a new pair which from the second month on becomes productive?" Answer: 233 = F13 . The Fibonacci numbers are generated as a result of solving this problem!
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Fibonacci Numbers in Popular Culture 13, 3, 2, 21, 1, 1, 8, 5 is part of a code left as a clue by murdered museum curator Jacque Saunire in Dan Browns best-seller The Da Vinci Code. Crime-ghting FBI math genius Charlie Eppes mentions how the Fibonacci numbers occur in the structure of crystals and in spiral galaxies in the Season 1 episode "Sabotage" (2005) of the television crime drama NUMB3RS. Fibonacci numbers feature prominently in the new Fox TV Series Touch, concerning a mathematically gifted boy who is mute but strives to communicate to the world through numbers. Patterns are hidden in plain sight, you just have to know where to look. Things most people see as chaos actually follows subtle laws of behaviour; galaxies, plants, sea shells. from the opening narration
Fibonacci Numbers in Popular Culture (cont.) The rap group Black Star uses the following lyrics in the song Astronomy (8th Light): Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two Its the third eye vision, ve side dimension The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight In the song Lateralus, by the American rock band Tool, the syllables in the verses (counting between pauses) form the sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 8, 5, 3.
8 7 The time signatures vary between 9 8 , 8 and 8 , so the song was originally titled 987. F16 = 987, a Fibonacci number!
Fibonacci Numbers in the Comics
Figure: FoxTrot by Bill Amend (2005)
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Fibonacci Numbers in Art
Figure: The chimney of Turku Energia in Turku, Finland, featuring the Fibonacci sequence in 2m high neon lights (Mario Merz, 1994).
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Figure: One side of the Mole Antonelliana in Turin, Italy features the Fibonacci numbers in an artistic work titled Flight of Numbers (Mario Merz, 2000).
Figure: The fountain consists of 14 (?) water cannons located along the length of the fountain at intervals proportional to the Fibonacci numbers. It rests in Lake Fibonacci (reservoir).
Figure: The Fibonacci Spiral, an example of a Logarithmic Spiral, very common in nature.
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Fibonacci Numbers in Nature Number of petals in most owers: e.g., 3-leaf clover, buttercups (5), black-eyed susan (13), chicory (21). Number of spirals in bracts of a pine cone or pineapple, in both directions, are typically consecutive Fibonacci numbers. Number of leaves in one full turn around the stem of some plants. Number of spirals in the seed heads on daisy and sunower plants.
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Figure: My research assistant, Owen (3 yrs), counting ower petals in our front garden.
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Figure: Columbine (left, 5 petals); Black-eyed Susan (right, 13 petals)
Figure: Shasta Daisy (left, 21 petals); Field Daisies (right, 34 petals)

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Figure: Excerpt from the text Introduction to Mathematics for Life Sciences, by Edward Batschelet (1971), demonstrating the occurrence of Fibonacci in the number of leaves (5) and windings (2) per period (when the same leaf orientation returns).
Figure: In most daisy or sunower blossoms, the number of seeds in spirals of opposite direction are consecutive Fibonacci numbers.
How can mathematics help explain the prevalence of Fibonacci numbers?
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The Golden Ratio
a+b a a 1+ 5 = = = = 1.61803398875 a b b 2 The Golden Ratio , also known as the Golden Mean, the Golden Section and the Divine Proportion, is thought by many to be the most aesthetically pleasing ratio. It was known to the ancient Greeks and its use has been speculated in their architecture and sculptures.
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Fibonacci Numbers and The Golden Ratio Consider the ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers: 1 = 1, 1 2 = 2, 1 3 = 1.5, 2 5 , = 1.666 3 8 = 1.6, 5 13 = 1.625, 8
21 34 55 89 1.6154, 1.6190, 1.6176, 1.6182, 13 21 34 55 144 233 377 1.617978, 1.618056, 1.618026 89 144 233 Recall: 1.61803398875 Fibonacci Fun Fact #1:
n
lim
Fn+1 = , Fn
the Golden Ratio!
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A Proof Suppose that we assume the limit exists: lim

n
Fn+1 = L. Fn
Take Fn+1 = Fn + Fn1 and divide both sides by Fn : Fn +1 Fn1 1 = 1+ = 1+ Fn Fn Fn /Fn1 Clever observation: lim
n
(1)
Fn +1 Fn = L implies that lim = L. n Fn1 Fn
Taking the limit of both sides of equation (1) yields L =1+ 1 L or L2 L 1 = 0.

1+ 5 2 .
The positive root of this quadratic equation is L = But thats !

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An Important Observation The proof does not depend, in any way, on the opening numbers of the sequence. In other words, if you create a sequence using the recursive relation Gn = Gn1 + Gn2 , then regardless of your starting numbers, the limit of the ratio of successive terms will be the Golden Ratio. Example: 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29, 47, 76, 123, 199, 322, 521, 843, ... 843 1.618042 521 These numbers will be important later: they are called the Lucas Numbers.
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Continued Fractions
Denition
Given a real number , the continued fraction expansion of is = a0 + a1 + a2 + 1 1 1 a3 + 1 .. . = [a0 ; a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . ]
where each ai (except possibly a0 ) is a positive integer. Example: = 3+ 2+ 4+ 1 1 1 1+

= [3; 2, 4, 1, . . . ] 1 .. .
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More on Continued Fractions Question: How do we nd if it is an innite fraction? Answer: One approach is to approximate by terminating the fraction at different places. These approximations are called convergents. In general, the nth convergent of = pn = [a0 ; a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . , an ] . qn
The larger n is (the further out in the expansion we go), the better the approximation to becomes. Key Idea: Any particular convergent pn /qn is closer to than any other fraction whose denominator is less than qn . The convergents in a continued fraction expansion of are the best rational approximations to .
An Important Example Consider = [1; 1, 1, 1, . . .]. The rst ve convergents are: p0 q0 p2 q2 p3 q3 = 1 = = 1+ 1 , 1 1 1+ = 1+ 1+ 1 1 1 p1 1 2 =1+ = , q1 1 1 = 3 , 2 = 1 1 1 1+ 1 1+
1 1+
5 , 3
p4 q4
= 1+ 1+
= 1 1
8 . 5
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An Important Example (cont.) Weve seen this before:

n
lim
pn = , qn
the Golden Ratio!
In other words, = [1; 1, 1, 1, . . .] = . Fibonacci Fun Fact #2: The convergents in the continued fraction expansion of the Golden Ratio are the ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers. This means that the Fibonacci fractions give the best approximations to the Golden Ratio.
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Fibonacci Phyllotaxis In 1994, Roger Jean conducted a survey of the literature encompassing 650 species and 12500 specimens. He estimated that among plants displaying spiral or multijugate phyllotaxis (leaf arrangement) about 92% of them have Fibonacci phyllotaxis. (Phyllotaxis: A systemic study in plant morphogenesis, Cambridge University Press) Question: Why do so many plants and owers feature Fibonacci numbers? Succint Answer: Nature tries to optimize the number of seeds in the head of a ower. Starting at the center, each successive seed occurs at a particular angle to the previous, on a circle slightly larger in radius than the previous one. This angle needs to be an irrational multiple of 2 , otherwise there is wasted space. But it also needs to be poorly approximated by rationals, otherwise there is still wasted space.
Fibonacci Phyllotaxis (cont.)
Figure: Seed growth based on different angles of dispersion. Left: = 90 . Center = 137.6 . Right: = 137.5 .
What is so special about 137.5 ? Its the golden angle! Dividing the circumference of a circle using the Golden Ratio gives an angle of = (3 5) 137.5077641 . This seems to be the best angle available.
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Example: The Golden Angle
Figure: The Aonium with 3 CW spirals and 2 CCW spirals. Below: The angle between leaves 2 and 3 and between leaves 5 and 6 is very close to 137.5 .
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Why ? is an irrational number. Moreover, the continued Recall: = fraction expansion of is [1; 1, 1, 1, . . .]. Because the terms in the continued fraction are all 1 (no growth in the ai s), the least rational-like irrational number is ! On the other hand, the convergents (the best rational approximations to ) are precisely ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers. Since an approximation must be made (the number of seeds or leaves are whole numbers), Fibonacci numbers are the best choice available. Since the petals of owers are formed at the extremities of the seed spirals, we also see Fibonacci numbers in the number of ower petals too! Wow! Mother Nature Knows Math.
1+ 5 2
Fibonacci Numbers in Indian Rhythmic Patterns Before Fibonacci, Indian scholars such as Gopala (before 1135) and Hemachandra (c. 1150) discussed the sequence 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, . . . in their analysis of Indian rhythmic patterns. Fibonacci Fun Fact #3: The number of ways to divide n beats into long (L, 2 beats) and short (S, 1 beat) pulses is Fn+1 . Example: n = 3 has SSS, SL or LS as the only possibilities. F4 = 3. Example: n = 4 has SSSS, SLS, LSS, SSL, LL as the only possibilities. F5 = 5. Recursive pattern is clear: To nd the number of ways to subdivide n beats, take all the possibilities for n 2 beats and append an L, and take those for n 1 and append an S.
Bla Bartk Born in Nagyszentmikls, Hungary (now Snnicolau Mare, Romania) in 1881. Died in New York, Sept. 1945. Studies at the Catholic Gymnasium (high school) in Pozsony where he excels in math and physics in addition to music. Enters the Academy of Music (Liszt is 1st president) in Budapest in 1899. Avid collector of folk music (particularly Hungarian, Romanian, Slovakian and Turkish). Inuenced by Debussy and Ravel; preferred Bach to Beethoven. Considered to be one of Hungarys greatest composers (along with Franz Liszt).
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Bla Bartk (cont.)
Figure: Bartk at age 22.
Very interested in nature. Builds impressive collection of plants, insects and minerals. Fond of sunowers and r-cones. We follow nature in composition ... folk music is a phenomenon of nature. Its formations developed as spontaneously as other living natural organisms: the owers, animals, etc. Bartk, At the Sources of Folk Music (1925) Notoriously silent about his own compositions. Let my music speak for itself, I lay no claim to any explanation of my works!
Ern Lendvai Beginning in 1955, the Hungarian musical analyst Ern Lendvai starts to publish works claiming the existence of the Fibonacci numbers and the Golden Ratio in many of Bartks pieces. Some nd Lendvais work fascinating and build from his initial ideas; others nd errors in his analysis and begin to discredit him. Lendvai becomes a controversial gure in the study of Bartks music. Lendvai draws connections between Bartks love of nature and organic folk music, with his compositional traits. He takes a broad view, examining form (structure of pieces, where climaxes occur, phrasing, etc.) as well as tonality (modes and intervals), in discerning a substantial use of the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci numbers.
Example: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Movement I
Lendvais analysis states:

1 2
Piece is 89 measures long. The climax of the movement occurs at the end of bar 55 (loudest moment), which gives a subdivision of two Fibonacci numbers (34 and 55) that are an excellent approximation to the golden ratio. Violin mutes begin to be removed in bar 34 and are placed back on in bar 69 (56 + 13 = 69). The exposition in the opening ends after 21 bars.
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Problems with Lendvais Analysis (Roy Howat)

1
The piece is 88 bars long, not 89! Lendvai includes a footnote: The 88 bars of the score must be completed by a whole-bar rest, in accordance with the Blow analyses of Beethoven. Hanh?! The dynamic climax (fff) of the piece is certainly at the end of bar 55. But the tonal climax is really at bar 44, when the subject returns a tritone away from the opening A to E . (88/2 = 44, symmetry?) The viola mutes come off at the end of bar 33 (not 34). The violin mutes are placed back on at the end of bar 68 (not 69). This last fact actually helps the analysis since 68 = 55 + 13, giving the second part of the movement a division of 13 and 20 (21 if you allow the full measure rest at the end). The fugal exposition actually ends in bar 20, not 21.
proportionally bar 88:
presence
missing
quaver
Fig. 4: Fugue from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste

PP
fff
PPP
55
21 (a) ideal proportions claimed by Lendvai
_ _
3468 13 21 13 .... 13
81 8
89
21
actual proportions
(b)
20
13
22
13
20 episode
33 mutes off: Bb timpani pedal
68 mutes replaced 55 climax
77 celeste (coda)
88 end
! and and Kramer also these Fennelly (1973) (1973) identify discrepancies, Fennelly Figure: Roy Howats analysis of Lendvais work, from Bartk, Lendvai and that the Kramer concludes notes the opening four-bar Analysis, the Fugue. sequences of the Principles of Proportional Music Analysis , 2, No. 1 (March, tendencies are therefore 'a less significant structural force than Fugue's proportional 1983), pp. 69-95. in other works . . .' (1973:120). Yet, as with the scheme seen in Fig. 3 above, the clarity and force of this overall shape suggest the opposite, despite the inaccuracies. Why the inaccuracies, then? G. Roberts (Holy Cross) methods ofFun with Fibonacci Numbers HC Summer Seminar 41 / 50 bar lengths can be considered. First, because Two alternative counting
! !
Fig. 5: Fugue from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste
PP 33 mutes
fff
20 55 climax 68
PPP
first
episode
off
mutes
on 13 20
end
88
arch dynamic
coda 44
subject reaches
77
Eb
4
tonal symmetries
44 S11 11
44 11
7
interactions
11
7 II
4 I
I 1118
20
0
opening sequence 4 4 4 414 6 melodic peak (2nd vlns)
20
I
44
Eb
44
fff
55
peak mo p melodic
31
II
26
other connections C26 I C/F: stretto
42
1
en68of end of inverted I I
stretto C/F?
47
30
30 end of exposition
77 coda begins
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Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Movement III
The opening xylophone solo in the third movement has the rhythmic pattern of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1 with a crescendo followed by a decrescendo (hairpin) climaxing at the top of the sequence.
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Fig 7: third movement of Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste
34 60'/48\ \
Al e
rt o
~
/inversion
climax-
I I I I
-48 269?
\/ / 20?%-
/ I 1' I
segments
of
arch form
AB.
I---_
C
2
A'
-I
Figure: to the structures seen above in Figs 3a and 4a. In fact it fits neither of them well since Percussion and Celesta. they are too symmetrical, but it very aptly matches the form and dynamic shape of the
! ! ! theanalysis Howats of(1971:31) the third movement of Music forclosely Strings, and suggests that its cross-section logarithmic spiral corresponds
third movement of the Music for Strings (again allowing for the approximations), centering on the climax as shown in Fig. 7. In the process it shows a possible explanation of why the two outermost transitions in the form - those uninvolved in G. Roberts (Holy the Cross) Fun with Fibonacci Numbers HC Summer Seminar and spiral - are the most masked ambiguous.
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Other Composers Inuence on Bartk Zoltn Kodly (1882-1967): Hungarian composer, collector of folk music, interested in music education (Kodly Method). Kodly befriends Bartk around 1905-1906. They bond over their mutual interest in folk music (Kodly was collecting phonograph cylinders of folk music in the remote areas of Hungary). In 1907, Kodly writes Mditation sur un motif de Claude Debussy. Just as with the fugue from Bartks Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, the piece opens pp and ends ppp, with a central climax marked fff. If one counts quarter notes rather than measures, there are 508 beats. The golden ratio of 508 is 314 (to the nearest integer) and this just happens to be smack in the middle of the two climatic bars at fff.
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Claude Debussy (1862-1918) As Kodly was bringing Debussy to Bartks attention, Debussy composes some interesting piano pieces whose form demonstrates the golden ratio. Images, published in 1905, consists of three piano pieces: Reets dans leau, Mouvement and Hommage Rameau. These soon became part of Bartks piano repertoire. Reets and Mouvement begin pp and nish ppp or pp, respectively. They also have main climaxes at ff and fff, respectively, located at places that divide the total piece into two portions in the golden ratio. Hommage Rameau has a similar structure dynamically and, according to Roy Howats analysis, is built very clearly on Fibonacci numbers.
Reets dans leau, Debussy
Analysis given by Roy Howat in Debussy in proportion: A musical analysis, Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Hommage Rameau, Debussy
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!
Ex. 2: Facsimile of recto pages 1 and 2 from manuscript 80FSS1 in the New York B61aBart6k Archive, reproduced by kind permission of Dr Benjamin Suchoff, Trustee of the Bart6k Estate. +P
//
f.(
Jb2
IA
of
?/-/
~~?i~4it
_
ji
g3 \
Figure: If you dig deep enough ... Bartks analysis of a Turkish folk song showing the Lucas numbers!
86 MUSIC ANALYSIS 2:1, 1983
since in this example the calculations are written on a separate sheet from the music. One might still argue that Bart6k was unaware of the significance of the numbering here. In that case the same would have to apply to many other obvious or fundamental sequence of the xylophone solo already menrelationships: the 1-2-3-5-8-5-3-2-1 tioned in the Music for Strings; some of the 'Bulgarian' metres in pieces such as the
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Final Remarks Lendvais inaccuracies partly due to a narrow focus on the Fibonacci numbers. Its clear that the Lucas numbers were more signicant in the rst movement of Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta. Moral: Dont fudge your data! Other works by Bartk where the golden ratio can be detected are Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Miraculous Mandarin, and Divertimento. Bartk was highly secretive about his works. Surviving manuscripts of many of the pieces where the Golden Ratio appears to have been used contain no mention of it. Bartk was already being criticized for being too cerebral in his music. Identifying the mathematical patterns in structure and tonality (even to his students!) would have only added fuel to the re.
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Fun with Fibonacci Numbers: Applications in Nature and Music

Holy Cross Summer Research Lunch Seminar July 11, 2012

G. Roberts (Holy Cross)

Fun with Fibonacci Numbers

The Fibonacci Numbers

Often called the Fibonacci Series or Fibonacci Sequence.

G. Roberts (Holy Cross)

Fun with Fibonacci Numbers

G. Roberts (Holy Cross)

Fun with Fibonacci Numbers