The idea of the symmetry of the world was expressed by the scientists of Ancient Greece, China and India. Significant interest in symmetry in our time is due to the fact that it personifies in science an era of synthesis of many scientific concepts, at first glance scattered, which are combined into one consistent and integral picture of the world.
Many scientists attribute symmetry to such fundamental attributes of being as time, space, motion. Types of symmetry can be the following: structural; geometric; dynamic. Symmetry can manifest itself in invariance (invariance).
Symmetry in physics is manifested not only in the form of simple (geometric) symmetries, but also in the form of very complex, so-called dynamic symmetries, that is, those associated not with spatio-temporal relationships, but with various types of interactions.
From the point of view of equilibrium, orderliness between parts of the whole and violation of such orderliness, one can determine the following types of symmetry: symmetry; asymmetry; asymmetry; antisymmetry; supersymmetry.
Asymmetry is the lack of symmetry. In reality, there are no absolute symmetries and asymmetries. These antagonists are always in dialectic unity and constant struggle. At different stages of the evolution of matter, either symmetry or asymmetry predominates, but these two tendencies are always present as a dialectical contradiction and unity.
Disymmetry is the absence of some symmetry elements in objects. According to Pasteur, a figure that can not be combined with an overlay with a mirror image can be called asymmetric . The symmetry level of such an object can be arbitrarily high.
Antisymmetry is the opposite of symmetry. It is associated with a change of sign: particle - antiparticle, plus - minus, white - black, compression - stretching, and so on.
In the last years of the twentieth century, the idea of supersymmetry proposed by Russian mathematicians Gelfand and Likhtman was developed. Their idea was as follows: in our space there are ordinary dimensions, therefore, there may exist super-dimensions, measured in the so-called Grassmann numbers, which are very unusual. So, for example, in our ordinary math, multiplying eight by nine will be the same as if we multiplied nine by eight. In Grassman’s mathematics, “a” multiplied by “b” will equal minus “b” multiplied by “a”. This mathematical apparatus assumes the existence of some symmetrical “anti-worlds”.
Types of symmetry can be considered by the so-called symmetry operations. Distinguish operations such as reflection in the plane; rotation around the axis; reflection in the center; screw turns and others.
Bilateral symmetry is most clearly represented in biology. One example of such symmetry is the beautiful and structurally complex patterns of butterflies on wings.
Bilateral symmetry has arisen in connection with the need for organisms to move in space in accordance with specific goals. First of all, it affected the organs of movement: legs of spiders, crustaceans, amphibians, insects, mammals and reptiles, wings of bats and birds, fins of lampreys, squid, seals, fish, dolphins and whales.
The organs that control the movement, the nervous system of humans and animals also have a similar symmetry. Obviously, it is easier to coordinate the work of legs, wings or fins in order to move more actively in space, without encountering various objects, maintaining the balance of the body, making an exact landing and making other movements.
Thus, we examined some types of symmetry.