Golden Ratio
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The golden ratio (symbol is the Greek letter "phi" shown at left) is a special number approximately equal to 1.618
It appears many times in geometry, art, architecture and other areas.
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The Idea Behind It
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If you divide a line into two parts so that:
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the longer part divided by the smaller part
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is also equal to
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the whole length divided by the longer part
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then you will have the golden ratio.
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Guessing It
There is only one value that would make a/b equal to (a+b)/a. Let us try out some possibilities to see if we can discover it:
| Let us try a=7 and b=3, so a+b=10: |
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7/3 = 2.333..., but 10/7 = 1.429..., so that won't work |
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| Let us try a=6 and b=4, so a+b=10: |
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6/4 = 1.5, but 10/6 = 1.666..., closer but not there yet! |
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| Let us try a=6.18 and b=3.82, so a+b=10: |
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6.18/3.82 = 1.6178..., and 10/6.18 = 1.6181..., getting very close! |
In fact the value is:
1.61803398874989484820... (keeps going, without any pattern)
The digits just keep on going, with no pattern. In fact the Golden Ratio is known to be an Irrational Number, and I will tell you more about it later.
Calculating It
You can calculate it yourself by starting with any number and following these steps:
- A) divide 1 by your number (1/number)
- B) add 1
- C) that is your new number, start again at A
With a calculator, just keep pressing "1/x", "+", "1", "=", around and around. I started with 2 and got this:
| Number |
1/Number |
Add 1 |
| 2 |
1/2=0.5 |
0.5+1=1.5 |
| 1.5 |
1/1.5 = 0.666... |
0.666... + 1 = 1.666... |
| 1.666... |
1/1.666... = 0.6 |
0.6 + 1 = 1.6 |
| 1.6 |
1/1.6 = 0.625 |
0.625 + 1 = 1.625 |
| 1.625 |
1/1.625 = 0.6154... |
0.6154... + 1 = 1.6154... |
| 1.6154... |
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It is getting closer and closer!
But it would take a long time to get there, however there are better ways and it can be calculated to thousands of decimal places quite quickly.
Drawing It
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Here is one way to draw a rectangle with the Golden Ratio:
- Draw a square (of size "1")
- Place a dot half way along one side
- Draw a line from that point to an opposite corner (it will be √5/2 in length)
- Turn that line so that it runs along the square's side
Then you can extend the square to be a rectangle with the Golden Ratio.
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The Formula
Looking at the rectangle we just drew, you can see that there is a simple formula for it. If one side is 1, the other side will be:
The square root of 5 is approximately 2.236068, so The Golden Ratio is approximately (1+2.236068)/2 = 3.236068/2 = 1.618034. This is an easy way to calculate it when you need it.
Beauty
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Many artists and architects believe the Golden Ratio makes the most pleasing and beautiful shape.
This rectangle has been made using the Golden Ratio, Looks like a typical frame for a painting, doesn't it?
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Many buildings and works of art include the Golden Ratio in them,
such as the Parthenon in Greece. |
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Fibonacci Sequence
And here is a surprise. If you take any two successive Fibonacci Numbers, their ratio is very close to the Golden Ratio. In fact, the bigger the pair of Fibonacci Numbers, the closer the approximation.
Let us try a few:
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A
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B
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B/A |
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2
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3
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1.5 |
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3
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5
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1.666666666... |
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5
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8
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1.6 |
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8
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13
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1.625 |
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...
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...
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... |
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144
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233
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1.618055556... |
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233
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377
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1.618025751... |
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...
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...
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The Most Irrational ...
The Golden Ratio is the most irrational number. Here is why ...
| One of the special properties of the Golden Ratio is that it can be defined in terms of itself, like this: |
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(In numbers: 1.61803... = 1 + 1/1.61803...) |
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| That can be expanded into this fraction that goes on for ever (called a "continued fraction"): |
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So, it neatly slips in between simple fractions.
Whereas many other irrational numbers are reasonably close to rational numbers (for example Pi = 3.141592654... is pretty close to 22/7 = 3.1428571...)
Other Names
The Golden Ratio is also sometimes called the golden section, golden mean, golden number, divine proportion, divine section and golden proportion.
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