This amazingly symmetrical world

Preface......Page 21
A Conversation......Page 23
I Symmetry Around Us......Page 31
  An Object and Its Mirror Twin......Page 35
  Mirror Symmetry......Page 37
  Enantiomorphs......Page 38
  Rotational Symmetry......Page 43
  Mirror-Rotational Symmetry......Page 44
  Translational Symmetry......Page 45
  Bad Neighbours......Page 47
  Glide Plane (Axis) of Symmetry......Page 49
  Borders......Page 51
  Decorative Patterns......Page 53
  Pattern Construction......Page 56
  The `Lizards' Design......Page 59
  The Five Platonic Solids......Page 61
  The Symmetry of the Regular Polyhedra......Page 62
  The Uses of the Platonic Solids to Explain Some Fundamental Problems......Page 63
  On the Role of Symmetry in the Cognition of Nature......Page 64
  From the Concept of Symmetry to the Real Picture of a Symmetrical World......Page 67
  Symmetry in Inanimate Nature. Crystals......Page 68
  Symmetry in the World of Plants......Page 71
  Symmetry in the World of Animals......Page 74
  Inhabitants of Other Worlds......Page 77
  Molecules......Page 79
  The Puzzle of the Benzene Ring......Page 80
  The Crystal Lattice......Page 81
  The Face-Centred Cubic Lattice......Page 82
  Polymorphism......Page 84
  The Experimental Study of Crystal Structures......Page 85
  The Mysteries of Water......Page 87
  Magnetic Structures......Page 88
  Order and Disorder......Page 90
  The Symmetry and Asymmetry of the Helix......Page 93
  Helices in Nature......Page 94
  The DNA Molecule......Page 97
  The Rotation of the Plane of Light Polarization......Page 98
  Left and Right Molecules. Stereoisomerism......Page 100
  The Left-Right Asymmetry of Molecules and Life......Page 101
II Symmetry Around Us......Page 105
  The Relativity Principle......Page 109
  The Relativity of Simultaneous Events......Page 110
  The Lorentz Transformations......Page 111
  The Relativity of Time Periods......Page 113
  The Speed in Various Frames......Page 114
  Symmetry Under Spatial Translations......Page 117
  Rotational Symmetry......Page 119
  Symmetry in Time......Page 120
  The Symmetry Under Mirror Reflection......Page 121
  An Example of Asymmetry of Physical Laws......Page 122
  An Unusual Adventure of Baron Münchhausen......Page 125
  The Problem of Billiard Balls......Page 126
  On the Law of Conservation of Momentum......Page 128
  The Vector Product of Two Vectors......Page 130
  Kepler's Second Law......Page 131
  Conservation of the Intrinsic Angular Momentum of a Rotating Body......Page 133
  The Relationship of Space and Time Symmetry to Conservation Laws......Page 137
  The Universal and Fundamental Nature of Conservation Laws......Page 138
  The Practical Value of Conservation Laws......Page 141
  The Example of the Compton Effect......Page 142
  Conservation Laws as Prohibiting Rules......Page 144
  Some Features of Particles......Page 147
  The Zoo of Elementary Particles......Page 148
  Particles and Antiparticles......Page 150
  Particles, Antiparticles and Symmetry......Page 154
  Neutrino and Antineutrino......Page 156
  The Instability of Particles......Page 157
  Inter-conversions of Particles......Page 160
  Conservation of Energy and Momentum in Particle Reactions......Page 165
  The Conservation of Electric Charge and Stability of the Electron......Page 167
  The Three Conservation Laws and Neutrino......Page 168
  Experimental Determination of Electron Antineutrino......Page 170
  Electron and Muon Numbers. Electron and Muon Neutrinos......Page 171
  The Baryon Number and Stability of the Proton......Page 173
  Discrete Symmetries. CPT-Invariance......Page 175
  What Is the Ozma Problem?......Page 179
  The Ozma Problem Before 1956......Page 181
  The Mirror Asymmetry of Beta-Decay Processes......Page 182
  The Mirror Asymmetry in Decay Processes and the Ozma Problem......Page 183
  The Fall of Charge-Conjugation Symmetry......Page 184
  Combined Parity......Page 185
  Combined Parity and the Ozma Problem......Page 187
  The Solution to the Ozma Problem......Page 188
  The Periodic Table and the Pauli Principle......Page 191
  Commutative Symmetry. Fermions and Bosons......Page 192
  Symmetrical and Antisymmetrical Wave Functions......Page 193
  The Superfluidity of Liquid Helium. Superconductivity......Page 194
  Induced Light Generation and Lasers......Page 196
  The Principal Types of Interactions......Page 197
  Isotopic Invariance of Strong Interactions. The Isotopic Spin (Isospin)......Page 199
  Strangeness Conservation in Strong and Electromagnetic Interactions......Page 202
  Interactions and Conservations......Page 205
  A Curious Formula......Page 206
  The Unitary Symmetry of Strong Interactions......Page 207
  Quarks......Page 211
  The Charmed World......Page 214
  Quark-Lepton Symmetry......Page 216
  A New Discovery......Page 218
  The Development of the Concept of Symmetry......Page 221
  Symmetry in Creative Arts......Page 224
 Literature......Page 239