What is the Golden Ratio?

Answer 1

The Golden Ratio is a mathematical relationship that exists in art, shapes, nature and patterns. This ratio is thought to be aesthetically pleasing and beneficial to the objects that posess them.

The Golden Ratio denoted by the Greek letter phi, usually lower case (φ) states that the division of a line segment into two creates a ratio of the shorter part to the longer equal to that of the longer to the whole. It works out to about 1.61803 and is derived from the Fibonacci sequence.

For example:

• The ratio of the short and long sides of a rectangle should be 1.618 (rounded) to be "right".
• This ratio is used in doors, windows, pictures, books and many other commonly seen rectangular objects.
• The seeds in a sunflower are 53 to the right and 33 to the left diagonal creating a 1.6 proportion
• the swivel of a snail's shell
• the length of our body parts in proportion to the whole anatomical body
• acorn seeds

The Golden ratio is also known as the:

• golden section
• golden mean
• extreme and mean ratio
• medial section
• divine proportion
• divine section
• golden proportion
• golden cut
• golden number