When Peter J. Lu traveled to Uzbekistan, he had no idea of the mathematical journey that he was about to embark on as well. The Harvard graduate student in physics was fascinated by the beautiful and ...

Ah, tiles. You can get square ones, and do a grid, or you can get fancier shapes and do something altogether more complex. By and large though, whatever pattern you choose, it will normally end up ...

A short while ago Nobel Intent covered quasi-crystalline patterns that adorn some medieval mosques. Roger Penrose rediscovered these patterns in the 70s, when he demonstrated that they have some ...

Islamic architects and mathematicians were creating quasi-crystalline patterns some 500 years before similar patterns were described in the West, claim two physicists in the US. Peter J Lu of Harvard ...

The intricate, abstract designs of Islamic art and architecture have always struck experts as the inspired expressions of a faith that forbids direct depictions of holy figures. But a new study shows ...

Patterning and periodic structures are very important in physics. This led to a tremendous amount of work on learning what shapes can tile an area or fill a volume. It was found that these shapes must ...

If someone asked you to walk in a straight line over a constantly shifting floor, you would probably declare it impossible after a few tries and a couple of grazed knees. Researchers studying a ...