Artwork for Symmetry for Kids: Why a Snowflake Has Six Matching Arms

Maths

Symmetry for Kids: Why a Snowflake Has Six Matching Arms

Episode 745 11:14

In this episode

The story of symmetry for kids: why a snowflake looks unchanged when you turn it, and how Emmy Noether showed in Germany in 1915 that symmetry hides the laws of physics.

• How flips, turns and slides show up in butterflies, starfish and honeycombs
• How Noether linked symmetry in time to the rule that energy never disappears
• Why water freezing into hexagons gives every snowflake six arms
• Quiz questions to answer along the way

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