edited by István Hargittai (Hungarian Acad. Sci.)

Fivefold symmetry is common in flowers, fruits, molecules, logos, and buildings, but it is a forbidden symmetry in the world of crystals. A few years ago, the so-called quasicrystals were discovered displaying fivefold symmetry, and it caused a minirevolution in crystallography. There has been increased awareness of fivefold symmetry in all domains of human interest ever since. The present book brings together authors and ideas on a common theme from mathematics, the sciences, design, and anthropology to history, literature, and the arts. Its 29 chapters are an offering by scientists and humanists from 13 countries to a broad readership of professionals and laypersons about fivefold symmetry and the areas that are being bridged by this unique concept.

• Fivefold Symmetry in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Beyond (J Brandmüller)
• 800 Year Old Pentagonal Tiling from Maragh(, Iran, and the New Varieties of Aperiodic Tiling it Inspired (E Makovicky)
• Fivefold Symmetry in Hyperbolic Crystallography (D Dunham)
• Pentagonal Chaos (C A Pickover)
• The Discovery of Space Frames with Fivefold Symmetry (S Baer)
• The Icosahedral Design of the Great Pyramid (H F Verheyen)
• A Mystic History of Fivefold Symmetry in Japan (K Miyazaki)
• Albrecht Dürer and the Regular Pentagon (D W Crowe)
• Fivefold Symmetry in the Graphic Art of M C Escher (R A Dunlap)
• Hawaiian Flowers with Fivefold Symmetry (M Hargittai)
• The Relationship between Mathematics and Mysticism of the Golden Mean Through History (J Kappraff)
• An Islamic Pentagonal Seal (W K Chorbachi & A L Loeb)
• and other papers