Hunting the Hidden Dimension
Sunday 11th October 2009 from 10h00 to 11h30
Salle 2 / Grand Amphithéâtre
- Directed by
- Michel Schwarz, Bill Jersey
- Produced by
- WGBH Educational Foundation, The Catticus Corporation
Documentary, United States, 2008, 56 min
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes Prize
What do clouds, stalks of broccoli, and the rhythm of your heart have in common? Fractals – the irregular, repeating shapes that are found almost everywhere in nature, but whose governing principles were considered beyond the limits of our mathematical understanding well into the 20th century.
But today, scientists, designers and inventors are using fractal geometry to make breakthroughs in fields ranging from wireless communications, to cancer research, to the search for solutions to global climate change.
Weaving together fresh reporting from the front lines of science with a mathematical detective story, Hunting the hidden dimension takes us into the mysterious realm inside our world that these maverick mathematicians endeavor to map, exploring the remarkable findings that are deepening our understanding of nature and inspiring a new wave of scientific innovation.
Debate with :
- Benoît Mandelbrot, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Sciences at Yale University
- Jean-François Collona, mathematician, CNRS
- Vincent Fleury, from Biofluidique - Specialist of cardiovascular system and origin of invertebrates. Laboratoire MSC (Matière et Systèmes Complexes) Université Paris-Diderot et CNRS
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Film information: Hunting the hidden dimension