In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the following integer sequence:

By definition, the first two Fibonacci numbers are 0 and 1, and each subsequent number is the sum
of the previous two. Some sources omit the initial 0, instead beginning the sequence with two 1s.

In mathematical terms, the sequence Fn of Fibonacci numbers is defined by the recurrence relation

with seed values

The Fibonacci sequence is named after Leonardo of Pisa, who was known as Fibonacci .
Fibonacci's 1202 book Liber Abaci introduced the sequence to Western European
mathematics, although the sequence had been described earlier in Indian mathematics.
Fibonacci numbers are used in the analysis of financial markets, in strategies such
as Fibonacci retracement, and are used in computer algorithms such as the Fibonacci
search technique and the Fibonacci heap data structure. The simple recursion of
Fibonacci numbers has also inspired a family of recursive graphs called Fibonacci
cubes for interconnecting parallel and distributed systems. They also appear in biological
settings, such as branching in trees, arrangement of leaves on a stem, the fruit spouts of
a pineapple the flowering of artichoke, an uncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine
cone.
Every 3rd number of the sequence is even and more generally, every kth number of the sequence is a
multiple of Fk. Thus the Fibonacci sequence is an example of a divisibility sequence. In fact, the Fibonacci
sequence satisfies the stronger divisibility property

The Fibonacci numbers are also an example of a complete sequence. This means that every
positive integer can be written as a sum of Fibonacci numbers, where any one number is used once
at most.

Closed-form expression
Like every sequence defined by linear recurrence,[16] the Fibonacci numbers have a closed-form solution.
It has become very well known as Binet's formula, even though it was already known by Abraham de
Moivre:[17]

where

is the golden ratio

Applications
The Fibonacci numbers are important in the computational run-time analysis of Euclid's algorithm to
determine the greatest common divisor of two integers: the worst case input for this algorithm is a pair of
consecutive Fibonacci numbers.[38]

Yuri Matiyasevich was able to show that the Fibonacci numbers can be defined by a Diophantine
equation, which led to his original solution of Hilbert's tenth problem.

The Fibonacci numbers occur in the sums of "shallow" diagonals in Pascal's triangle and Lozanić's
triangle (see Binomial coefficient). They occur more obviously in Hosoya's triangle.

Every positive integer can be written in a unique way as the sum of one or more distinct Fibonacci
numbers in such a way that the sum does not include any two consecutive Fibonacci numbers. This is
known as Zeckendorf's theorem, and a sum of Fibonacci numbers that satisfies these conditions is called
a Zeckendorf representation. The Zeckendorf representation of a number can be used to derive
its Fibonacci coding.

The Fibonacci numbers and principle is also used in the financial markets. It is used in trading algorithms,
applications and strategies. Some typical forms include: the Fibonacci fan, theFibonacci arc, Fibonacci
retracement and the Fibonacci time extension.[39]

Fibonacci numbers are used by some pseudorandom number generators.

Fibonacci numbers are used in a polyphase version of the merge sort algorithm in which an unsorted list
is divided into two lists whose lengths correspond to sequential Fibonacci numbers - by dividing the list so
that the two parts have lengths in the approximate proportion φ. A tape-drive implementation of the
polyphase merge sort was described in The Art of Computer Programming.

Fibonacci numbers arise in the analysis of the Fibonacci heap data structure.

The Fibonacci cube is an undirected graph with a Fibonacci number of nodes that has been proposed as
a network topology for parallel computing.

A one-dimensional optimization method, called the Fibonacci search technique, uses Fibonacci numbers.
[40]

The Fibonacci number series is used for optional lossy compression in the IFF 8SVX audio file format
used on Amiga computers. The number series compands the original audio wave similar to logarithmic
methods e.g. µ-law.[41][42]
In music, Fibonacci numbers are sometimes used to determine tunings, and, as in visual art, to determine
the length or size of content or formal elements. It is commonly thought that the third movement of Béla
Bartók's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta was structured using Fibonacci numbers.

Since the conversion factor 1.609344 for miles to kilometers is close to the golden ratio (denoted φ), the
decomposition of distance in miles into a sum of Fibonacci numbers becomes nearly the kilometer sum
when the Fibonacci numbers are replaced by their successors. This method amounts to a radix 2
number register in golden ratio base φ being shifted. To convert from kilometers to miles, shift the register
down the Fibonacci sequence instead.[43]

IN NATURE

Fibonacci sequences appear in biological settings,[6] in two consecutive Fibonacci numbers, such as
branching in trees, arrangement of leaves on a stem, the fruitlets of a pineapple,[7] the flowering
of artichoke, an uncurling fern and the arrangement of a pine cone.[8] In addition, numerous poorly
substantiated claims of Fibonacci numbers or golden sections in nature are found in popular sources, e.g.
relating to the breeding of rabbits, the spirals of shells, and the curve of waves.[44] The Fibonacci numbers
are also found in the family tree of honeybees.[45]

The shell of Achatina fulicarespects the fibonacci logic

Przemysław Prusinkiewicz advanced the idea that real instances can in part be understood as the
expression of certain algebraic constraints on free groups, specifically as certain Lindenmayer grammars.
[46]
A model for the pattern of florets in the head of a sunflower was proposed by H. Vogel in 1979.[47] This
has the form

where n is the index number of the floret and c is a constant scaling factor; the florets thus lie
on Fermat's spiral. The divergence angle, approximately 137.51°, is the golden angle, dividing the
circle in the golden ratio. Because this ratio is irrational, no floret has a neighbor at exactly the same
angle from the center, so the florets pack efficiently. Because the rational approximations to the
golden ratio are of the formF(j):F(j + 1), the nearest neighbors of floret number n are those at n ± F(j)
for some index j which depends on r, the distance from the center. It is often said that sunflowers
and similar arrangements have 55 spirals in one direction and 89 in the other (or some other pair of
adjacent Fibonacci numbers), but this is true only of one range of radii, typically the outermost and
thus most conspicuous.[48]

The bee ancestry code

Fibonacci numbers also appear in the description of the reproduction of a population of idealized
honeybees, according to the following rules:

 If an egg is laid by an unmated female, it hatches a male or drone bee.

 If, however, an egg was fertilized by a male, it hatches a female.

Thus, a male bee will always have one parent, and a female bee will have two.

If one traces the ancestry of any male bee (1 bee), he has 1 female parent (1 bee). This female had 2
parents, a male and a female (2 bees). The female had two parents, a male and a female, and the male
had one female (3 bees). Those two females each had two parents, and the male had one (5 bees). This
sequence of numbers of parents is the Fibonacci sequence.[49]

This is an idealization that does not describe actual bee ancestries. In reality, some ancestors of a
particular bee will always be sisters or brothers, thus breaking the lineage of distinct parents

IN ARCHITECTURE AND BEYOND

 Sunflower head displaying florets in spirals of 34 and 55 around the outside

A tiling with squares whose sides are successive Fibonacci numbers in length

A Fibonacci spiral created by drawing arcs connecting the opposite corners of squares
in the Fibonacci tiling; this one uses squares of sizes 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, and 34; see Golden spiral

The Golden section in architecture

The Parthenon and Greek Architecture
The ancient Greeks knew of a rectangle whose sides are in the
golden proportion (1 : 1.618 which is the same as 0.618 : 1). It
occurs naturally in some of the proportions of the Five Platonic
Solids (as we have already seen). A construction for the golden section
point is found in Euclid's Elements. The golden rectangle is supposed
to appear in many of the proportions of that famous ancient Greek
temple, the Parthenon, in the Acropolis in Athens, Greece but there
is no original documentary evidence that this was deliberately
designed in. (There is a replica of the original building (accurate to
one-eighth of an inch!) at Nashville which calls itself "The Athens of
South USA".)
 The Acropolis (see a plan diagram or Roy George's plan of the
Parthenon with active spots to click on to view photographs), in the
centre of Athens, is an outcrop of rock that dominates the ancient
city. Its most famous monument is the Parthenon, a temple to the
goddess Athena built around 430 or 440 BC. It is largely in ruins but
is now undergoing some restoration (see the photos at Roy
George's site in the link above).
Again there are no original plans of the Parthenon itself. It appears
to be built on a design of golden rectangles and root-5 rectangles:
• the front view (see diagram above): a golden rectangle, Phi times
as wide as it is high
• the plan view: 5 as long as the front is wide so the floor area is
a square-root-of-5 rectangle
However, due to the top part being missing and the base being
curved to counteract an optical illusion of level lines appearing
bowed, these are only an approximate measures but reasonably
good ones.

SOME MORE GOOD EXAMPLES

the use started as early as with the Egyptians in the design of the
pyramids. When the basic phi relationships are used to create a
right triangle, it forms the dimensions of the great pyramids of
Egypt, with the geometry shown below creating an angle of 51.83
degrees, the cosine of which is phi, or 0.618.

It was used it in the design of Notre Dame in Paris, which was built
in the 1163 and 1250.
Renaissance artists of the 1500's in the time of Leonardo Da Vinci
knew it as the Divine Proportion. In India, it was used in the
construction of the Taj Mahal, which was completed in 1648. Click
on photos below for enlarged image.

Its use continues in modern architecture, as illustrated in the United

Nations building:
The CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest tower and freestanding
structure in the world, has contains the golden ratio in its design.
The ratio of observation deck at 342 meters to the total height of
553.33 is 0.618 or phi, the reciprocal of Phi!
THE DIVINE PROPORTIONAL

The human body is based on Phi and 5

The human body illustrates the Golden Section or Divine Proportion

The Divine Proportion in the Body

The white line is the body's height.

The blue line, a golden section of the white line, defines the distance from the head to the finger tips

The yellow line, a golden section of the blue line, defines the distance from the head to the navel and the elbows.

The green line, a golden section of the yellow line, defines the distance from the head to the pectorals and inside top of the
Arms, the width of the shoulders, the length of the forearm and the shin bone.

The magenta line, a golden section of the green line, defines the distance from the head to the base of the skull and the
width of the abdomen. The sectioned portions of the magenta line determine the position of the nose and the hairline.

Although not shown, the golden section of the magenta line (also the short section of the green line) defines the width of the
head and half the width of the chest and the hips.
The ratio of the forearm to hand is Phi

Your hand creates a golden section in relation to your arm, as the ratio of your forearm to your hand is also 1.618, the Divine
Proportion.

Even your feet show phi

The foot has several proportions based on phi lines, including:

1) The middle of the arch of the foot

2) The widest part of the foot
3) The base of the toe line and big toe
4) The top of the toe line and base of
the "index" toe
PHI AND ART

Modern Art
Graham Sutherland's Tapestry in Coventry Cathedral

Graham Sutherland's (1903-1980) huge tapestry of Christ The

King behind the altar in Coventry Cathedral here in a picture taken
by Rob Orland.
It seems to have been designed with some clear golden sections as
I've shown on Rob's picture:
Top of Form

Show golden sections on the picture:

Bottom of Form

• The figure of Christ is framed by an oval with a flattened top. At

the golden section point vertically is the navel indicated at the
narrowest part of the waist and also the lower edge of the girdle
(belt or waist-band), shown by blue arrows.
• The bottom the the girdle (waist-band) is also at a golden
section point for the whole figure from the top of the head to the
soles of the feet, shown by purple arrows.
Since this is also the position of the navel in the human body,
this indicates the figure is standing.
• The top of the girdle and the line of the chest are at golden
sections between the base of the girdle and the top of the
garment (the shoulders) shown by red arrows.
• The face also has several golden sections in it, the line of the
eyes and the nostrils being at the major golden sections, shown
by yellow lines.
• The two ovals forming the apron and the face are positioned
vertically at golden section points apart and at golden sections in
size as shown by the green arrows.
• The other two ovals, the sleeves, have a width that is 0.618 of
the distance between the sleeves, shown by grey arrows.