Best Costume--It's Geometry!

My Lego mad grandchildren would have loved this one.

It's Monday Geometry on the day after Halloween.

Bodie Geometry

Square headed nails                     and            triangular hinges and hasps.

Looking out through a collection of rectangles. 

 Circles with rays marking radius and diameter.

Squares and rectangles leaning into parallelograms.

Geometry in a formal garden

I still have some photos of London to share, but I am breaking out of that mold to catch up to what we have been doing since our return from the UK (other than picking up after our burglars.)

 While visiting kids and grandkids in Spokane, we hiked over to Manito park and visited the formal garden there. Pure geometry for Geometry Monday!

 Symmetry in action!

You've seen these before

In every collection of pictures of London you have seen the Houses of Parliament there nexst to the River Thames.

Westminster Abbey nearby.

Big Ben

When you visit London, be sure to include a day that is not on the weekend. Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and some other sites are closed on Sunday. If you do not plan carefully, you will find yourself settling for the magnificent exterior views as we did.

But that's good, too. And a good excuse to come back again some day.

Architecture is always good for Geometry Monday.

Eye Eye I

When I was last in London there was no Eye. I had thought since learning of it: how absurd! and was all set to boycott it. I'm glad I didn't.

It was constructed by British Airways for the Millenium, and remains an awesome tourist attraction.  These views are looking AT the London Eye. You can see the circles, arcs, angles and tangents needed to create it for Geometry Monday. Later in the week I will show some pictures ON the Eye. Consider now, though, that each of those compartments will hold approximately 25 people. That will give you a concept of how big this thing is.

I still kind of find it a bit unnerving juxtaposed with historic structures.

Geometry Monday--Rose Window--Lincoln Cathedral

Circles within Circles

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

We didn't have to range too far to see some of the sights of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Our hotel was just half a block from the station--indeed, our window looked over the station but the room was quiet.  Not so the streets on a Saturday night. We'd been told that Newcastle was the in place for a weekend party, and there was a lot of partying going on about. We were ready to hit the sack, though, so after a meal, we waited till the morning to have a good look around. Just down the road to the right, St. Nicholas Cathedral (Church of England) and to the left, the Cathedral Church of St. Mary (Roman Catholic) where we attended Sunday morning Mass. It dates only back to the mid-1800s, the Gothic Revival design was the work of architect Augustus Welby Pugin, and its stained glass windows are significant.

The statue of Cardinal Hume in the memorial garden makes a lovely spot to reflect.

Like any British city which has been around for a very long time, Newcastle has--a CASTLE!!!

...and like any good city on a river--the River Tyne--Newcastle has some fascinating bridges. (oh, Geometry for Monday!!!)

We used Newcastle as a starting point to get to Hadrian's Wall, but there is lots else about the city. On the weekend, it is party hardy; there's a huge exhibition center for science and related exhibits; but sometimes all you need is just a spot to sit and philosophize.

Next stop, Hadrian's Wall, then on the Lincoln and another great blogger meet-up. Yes, Stewart, we are almost there.

Nature's Geometry

Does this seem like geometry to you? These blossoms or pods from a tree by the gates of the manor house from the last post seem to me like a natural exercise in solid geometry. They remind me of the dodecahedron models I tried making years ago while taking high school geometry, though I would have to count how many sides there are--many more than twelve.

Rosy Geometry

I was looking for something recent that was geometric for Geometry Monday.



The new Rose Garden Gazebo is an octagon.







...and it has a view.

Ski Geometry

Packed skis form triangles on the backs of these hikers looking for extreme adventure in the back country. They didn't really want to be hikers--a week or two earlier there had been even more snow and they could ski into their adventure site.

A Study in Red and White Parallel Lines

...or the flag on a breezy Fourth.

It's Geometry Monday!

Tepee Geometry

Fine geometric lines in the framework of the lodge.

Geometry in Art

Looked at head on, the wild horse sculptures featured las week use a lot of rectangles. I am featuring more pictures of the horse sculptures this week at 365 No Themes No Memes.

Okay, it's a stretch

But this is Monday's Geometry.

I had stopped by the neighbor's fence to take some pictures of the chickens when this curious calf came to investigate...

 

...displaying the barbed wire and the shadows of the wire in parallel lines.

and, of course, his cute nose checking into Geometry Monday.

Geometry is Everywhere

Concentric Circles

with a little history.

It's Geometry Monday!

Just a reminder that I actually posted my Monday's Geometry on Saturday--along with my Weekend Reflection.

But here's another bit of amazing use of geometry in engineering from my Dad's album.

You know, I don't really care how many triangles make that strong, to me, that is one scary looking bridge. It spanned the Snake River at Twin Falls, Idaho, and was replaced in 1974 with the one I featured here, which gives me a lot more confidence. At the time this picture was taken, it was the highest bridge in the world. (I wrote about that, too.)

And look--both a reflection and a shadow as well. Thanks, Dad.

Reflection All Chock Full of Geometry

So here is my quandry. I've been saving this reflection from a cruise ship for some weekend when I needed a quick reflection for Weekend Reflections. But I got to looking at it and realized that it was a Monday Geometry picture. Look at the circles, perpendicular lines, parallel lines, rhombuses. Someone will pop in and see ovals and arcs and a variety of other things. Then if I were going to do Shadow Shot Sunday, there are shadows in the reflections of the circles with the......

You see. What do I do with this picture? Ah, well, for the moment, it's a Weekend Reflection which I will go mention at James' Newtown Daily Photo where Weekend Reflections is hosted. I've not done Shadow Shot Sunday, but you might run across others who are doing that. And it will still be here on Monday for the geometry.

In the meantime, I've gotta go. My book club is meeting this morning--I think.

Geometry I already mentioned in the hopyard

A good view of how the angled poles with their guy wires hold up the hopyard.

I already told the story of my friend who nipped the corner wire with the tractor and the whole yard fell.

The same principle applies to the end posts of a row in the vineyard. That triangle of post, wire, and ground on each end of a row keeps the support wire tight and the posts in between vertical and stable. The row can be incredibly long--quarter mile? half mile? and as long as those end posts are secure in the triangle, the row is stable.

Did you realize there was that much geometry in agriculture?

It's Geometry Monday! There's a word for this.

I don't know what the word is, but I do know that there is a word for how a triangle is not going to change shape and is so stable. This phenomenon is at the heart of the reason that so many triangles are used in engineering--bridge building--other construction. Put together a triangle of three Popsicle sticks into a triangle. Unless you break it, it will stay the same shape.

It's what makes a three legged stool sit stable where a four legged stool wobble if one leg is even a few millimeters longer or shorter than the others.

Is there a theological significance in this solidity--stability of three?
A square or a rectangle is not like this. If you push on the corner of your Popsicle stick square, it will turn into a rhombus. The angles change easily. A rectangle turns into a parallelogram.

So here, from my walk the other day, is what happens to a square in real life.

It's Geometry Monday! Dome

dome

noun

Architecture.


a. a vault, having a circular plan and usually in the form of a portion of a sphere, so constructed as to exert an equal thrust in all directions.

b. a domical roof or ceiling.

c. a polygonal vault, ceiling, or roof.
 
 
 
Capitol Dome,
Olympia, Washington
 
 
 
It's Geometry Monday!