A golden rectangle is one whose side lengths are in the golden ratio, which is, or approximated by:
A distinctive feature of this shape is that when a square section is removed, the remainder is another golden rectangle; that is, with the same aspect ratio as the first. Square removal can be repeated infinitely, in which case corresponding corners of the squares form an infinite sequence of points on the golden spiral, the unique logarithmic spiral with this property.
According to astrophysicist and math popularizer Mario Livio, since the publication of Luca Pacioli's Divina Proportione in 1509, when "with Pacioli's book, the Golden Ratio started to become available to artists in theoretical treatises that were not overly mathematical, that they could actually use," many artists and architects have been fascinated by the presumption that the golden rectangle is considered aesthetically pleasing. The proportions of the golden rectangle have been observed in works predating Pacioli's publication.
Read more about Golden Rectangle: Construction, Applications
Famous quotes containing the word golden:
“Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)