Fibonacci numbers were first applied in?

sequoianoir

I'd say ARCHITECTURE The Fibonacci sequence first appeared as the solution to a problem in the Liber Abaci, a book written in 1202 by Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa to introduce the Hindu-Arabic numerals used today to a Europe still using cumbersome Roman numerals. The original problem in the Liber Abaci asked how many pairs of rabbits can be generated from a single pair, if each month each mature pair brings forth a new pair, which, from the second month, becomes productive. The Fibonacci numbers are found to have many relationships to the Golden Ratio F = (1 + /5)/2, a constant of nature and a value which fascinated the ancient Greeks, appearing throughout Greek art and architecture. One can verify with a hand calculator that the ratio of Fn+1 to Fn is approximated by 1.6180339..., which is the decimal equivalent of the Golden Ratio. http://www.cs.rit.edu/~pga/Fibo/fact_sheet.html Apr 21 03, 3:45 PM

Gnomon

Sequianoir has provided the answer but has come to the wrong conclusion in my opinion. The Fibonacci numbers were first applied in the study of population growth in rabbits. Apr 22 03, 10:29 AM

Senior Moments

A problem in the third section of Liber abaci led to the introduction of the Fibonacci numbers and the Fibonacci sequence for which Fibonacci is best remembered today:- A certain man put a pair of rabbits in a place surrounded on all sides by a wall. How many pairs of rabbits can be produced from that pair in a year if it is supposed that every month each pair begets a new pair which from the second month on becomes productive? The resulting sequence is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, ... (Fibonacci omitted the first term in Liber abaci). This sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers, has proved extremely fruitful and appears in many different areas of mathematics and science. http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Fibonacci.html Apr 22 03, 11:54 AM

Senior Moments

http://www.mcs.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/R.Knott/Fibonacci/fibInArt.html links Fibonacci Numbers to several different applications. Apr 22 03, 12:06 PM