Symmetry and Broken Symmetry in Science, in Perception and in Art

Giuseppe Caglioti
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Giuseppe Caglioti: CESNEF, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Nucleare Politecnico di Milano

Chapter Chapter Three in The Dynamics of Ambiguity, 1992, pp 55-70 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Many structures possess elements of symmetry (mirror planes, rotation axes, inversion center, etc.). They are transformed into themselves as a result of symmetry operations such as a reflection on a plane, a rotation around an axis, an inversion with respect to a point. By definition, such symmetry operations, once made, preserve the original structure. Thus, if we set a ball revolving around its center or one of its diameters, or a glass around its axis, we have no way of knowing that the rotation has been made. That is, it is impossible to measure an absolute, angular coordinate: measuring in fact implies a reference for the angles such as a notch, for example, which cannot be marked on the ball’s surface or cut into the rim of the glass without at the same time breaking the rotational symmetry.

Keywords: Angular Momentum; Energy Operator; Atomic Orbital; Break Symmetry; Symmetry Transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1992
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-58080-2_4

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