A Novel Geometric Model of Natural Spirals

Based on Right Triangle ‘Polygonal’ Modular Formations
Robert E. Grant, Amanda Kennedy, Talal Ghannam

We propose a novel class of spirals that are based on perfect polygonal formations. The spirals are defined by a fractal
of right triangles that delineate their geometry and determine their progression rates and modes. We show how these
spirals match naturally occurring ones, including hurricanes and galaxies, much better than any previous model, which
allows for a more accurate categorization of these phenomena and a better prediction of their physical properties.

I. Introduction Thus, we can predict the intensity of a specific

Our universe is defined by various patterns and forms,
with spirals being the dominant among them,
observed in the faraway galaxies as well as in
hurricanes and tornados, plants and trees, water flow,
DNA, etc. They are like the archetypical patterns
upon which most types of matter, living and
nonliving, organize themselves. Therefore,
understanding the physical properties of these
fundamental shapes and the mechanisms by which
they form is essential to our understanding of the
whole universe, on the macroscopic level as well as
on the microscopic one.
The general research on the topic concentrated mainly
on the hyperbolic logarithmic spiral (HLS) model1,
with the Euler number e (2.718…) working as the
expansion factor, such as in spiral-arms galaxies.
However, this approach did not produce reliable
models that perfectly fit the observed forms of all
spirals2,3. Moreover, it requires adjusting the pitch of
the spiral by certain factors in order for the model to
fit the observed patterns. For example, the equation
ln(r - r0) = A1 + B1(θ) was proposed as a good fit for
some of the rain bands of hurricanes4. As obvious,
many parameters must be included in order to force
the logarithmic spiral to match the natural one. And
still, the results vary from good to not that so.
Accurately categorizing natural spirals based on
specific mathematical and geometrical models offers
many benefits. For example, there has been an
awareness of the relationship between spirals shapes
and their physical properties for over five decades5.
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hurricane simply by matching its radar images to a
known model that is already associated with a specific
category.
Our research into right triangles led to the creation of
spiraling forms that we believe fit the observed shapes
of most natural spirals much better than any other
model. Moreover, there seems to be a direct
correlation between the number of triangles that form
one complete round of the spiral (which we call the
mod) and the specific properties of the natural spirals
that match it.
Right triangles are unique forms due to the
Pythagorean relationship the sides share with each
other, with the sum of the square of the two
perpendicular sides equal to the square of the third
one, the hypotenuse. This paper also touches upon the
fundamental role the right triangle plays in defining
many of the laws and phenomena that shape our
universe.
Below are definitions of some of the terms used
throughout the paper:
Spiral arm pitch: The angular measurement of how
loose or tight the spiral arms are wound. The tighter
wound the spiral arm pitch is, the smaller the angle
will be. Also known as spiral pitch or arm pitch.
Rain bands: The spiral-like structure of clouds in
which heavy rainfall resides.
 

Perfect polygon: a shape with the exact same side

lengths, not to be confused with a regular polygon.
Mod: The number of right triangles formed from
intersecting a perfect polygon at all of its vertices and
midpoints. To find a spiral mod number, we multiply
the number of its sides by 2. It is not possible to have
an odd-numbered modular number.

II. Triangular Spiral Formations and their

Log Base Expansion
Forming spirals from right triangles is not a new
concept. The spiral of Theodorus is one such example
where right triangles, all having base lengths of 1 unit,
can be made to stack one next to the other to create a
rotating behavior, as shown below.
Figure 2: A new form of spirals made from right triangles
juxtaposed such that the base of the previous triangle work as the
height of the next one.
The triangles that create the spiral are identical,
varying in scale only. For the above specific example,
the dimensions have ratios of [1:√3:2], as shown
below. Thus, if we start from a triangle of [1, √3, 2]
units, the next one will have a hypotenuse of 4/√3, and
so on.

2
√3

Figure 1: The spiral of Theodorus, made of a matrix of right

triangles with the outer base of all triangles having a length of 1
unit.

We can create other types of spirals by juxtaposing
right triangles in a manner that follows regular
polygonal shapes such that each triangle is
constrained by the base of the previous one. Consider
the spiral below, which requires 12 triangles for each
round. Note how the base of each triangle constrains
the dimension of the next by defining its height.
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Figure 3: The right triangle that forms the base of the 12-turns
spiral has the dimensions of [1:2:√3].
The value of √(4/3) = 1.1547... is the ratio of the
hypotenuse to the height, which governs how each
new triangle grows from the previous one. It acts like
a log base (similar to e), and accounts for the
expansion intervals around a circle. The natural log
can land at the same locations like the one based on

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(√(4/3)) as e0.4315 = [√(4/3)]3, both landing at

1.539600…
The growth rate of 1.1547… is equal to 1/cos(30°) =
1.1547… Thus, this spiral is based on a hexagonal
structure, as shown below. Generally speaking, for a
specific polygonal geometry of n-sides, the number of
twists or turns its spiral performs are 2n, and
therefore, this spiral is mod(12).

Figure 5: A pentagonal spiral emerging from connecting the tip

of each right triangle to its predecessor.

The higher the expansion base values, the less the

number of right triangles involved (lower mod
number), and consequently, the less the circularity of
the spiral will be.
Figure 4: The spiral defined by a hexagon performs 12 twists for
each 360° complete turn; thus, it is of mod(12).

Another spiral emerges from a pentagonal structure,

as shown below. The triangles that form this spiral
have the proportions of [1:1.37639:1.7013], and
therefore, each triangle grows from the previous one
through the ratio of 1.7013…/1.37639… = 1/cos(36)
= 1.23606… The number of twists it takes to make
one full round is 2×5 = 10, and therefore this is a
mod(10) spiral.
A chart containing measurements of the logarithmic
base values for different spirals corresponding to
polygons having sides' lengths of 3 up to 109 can be Figure 6: The square, a spiral of mod(8), displays a spiral pitch
found in Appendix A. (The Geogrebra online with an expansion value of 1.414213562. The spiral is visibly less
circular compared to higher mod ones.
application was used to generate each spiral with an
accuracy of 17 decimal points.)

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Figure 7: A heptagon spiral, mod(14), displays a spiral pitch with

a base value of 1.109916264. The higher the mod number, the
more circular the spiral becomes.
Figure 8: Overlaying a triangular spiral of mod(16) over a nautilus
shell reveals a perfect matching (better than a golden spiral would
do).

III. Triangular Spirals in Nature

We overlay triangular spirals on top of images In the figure below, we compare a mod(8) spiral that
released by NASA, National Geographic, and other is based on square polygonal geometry to the
educational organizations. The images are for hurricane Sally of 2020, having a category of 2. Note
galaxies, hurricanes, shells, etc. Apart from the the perfect matching between the two.
opacity, no further editing or distorting of the images
has been made.
The overlaying revealed an excellent match with the
natural formations. For example, the nautilus shell
has always been used as a perfect example of the
golden spiral working in nature (the golden spiral is
defined by the irrational golden mean Φ = 1.618…).
Nevertheless, the triangular spiral of mod(16) seems
to fit the shell more perfectly than the golden spiral
does, as shown below. Note the perfect match with
the first three rounds of the shell. The shell then
deviates a bit from the triangular spiral, but we
believe as the nautilus gets older, its shell will achieve
a perfect matching.

Figure 9: Hurricane Sally (category 2), whose maximum wind

speed reached about 105 mph, is identified as a mod(8) spiral.

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Another example is between hurricane Odile (2014)
of category 4 and the mod(16) spiral.
Figure 10: Hurricane Odile, category 4, matching perfectly with
a triangular spiral of mod(16)
Hurricane Katrina of 2005 was a category 5. It
matches perfectly with a mod(18) spiral.
Figure 11: Hurricane Katrina. Category 5, matching a spiral of
mod(18).
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As evident from the images, there seems to be a direct
correlation between the category or the strength of the
hurricane and the mod of the matching triangular
spiral; the stronger the hurricane, the higher the mod.
Higher mod numbers indicate a higher number of
right triangles involved in creating the spiral, which
is reflected by the increase in the number of sides of
its respective overall polygonal geometry.
If we kept increasing the sides of the polygon, it
eventually turns into a circle. For a perfect circle, the
mod diverges into infinity, and the spiral arms
become confined into the circumference without
spreading out. The spiral turns into concentric circles
that get smaller and smaller towards the center. And
as the strength of the hurricane increases with the
mod, an infinite mod indicates an infinite strength. Of
course, this is not a realistic possibility, not on Earth
at least. However, in space, this impossible hurricane-
like structure may materialize into what we call black
holes. In this sense, a black hole is nothing but a
hurricane of galactic material rotating in a perfectly
circular spiral of almost infinite strength.
In fact, space is filled with spiral-like structures,
mainly galaxies. Galactic spiral arms are made up of
different materials, including space dust, gas, celestial
bodies such as stars, planets, etc. The gravitational
interaction between the stars in the spiral arm, along
with the effect of the dark matter that surrounds them,
controls their angular momentum and hence their
spirality6.
Galactic spirals had the biggest share of spiral-model
analysis. The images below illustrate many types of
spiral galaxies overlayed with their matching
triangular spirals, along with their respective mods.

Figure 12: Top: Galaxy NGC 1566 is identified as a mod(14)
spiral. Bottom: Galaxy M77 is identified as a mod(8) spiral.
Galaxies with higher central mass concentrations are
predicted to have more tightly wound spiral arms7.
Furthermore, the greater the speed and the heavier the
density, the more mods there are in the geometry. The
more mods, the tighter the spirals would wind, which
creates a more circular shape.
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Figure 13: Another example of perfect matching between celestial
galaxies and triangular spirals of different mods.
Astronomers believe that at the center of each galaxy
exists a black hole. Based on our model, this suggests
that the spiral's mod of each galaxy increases as we
move in from the outer arms towards the dense central
region such that it becomes circular at the center. Or
it may be the other way round, starting from a circular
black hole at the center, progressing outwardly into
lesser and lesser modes, while losing energy until a

certain balance takes place between the gravitational
pull of the central black hole, the angular momentum
of the galaxy, and the surrounding dark matter.
Finally, at the edge of the galaxy, the overall shape
adopts the form of a spiral having a specific mod that
achieves the balance between all the forces mentioned
above.
IV. Discussion
The success of triangular spirals in achieving the
above excellent matching is mainly due to their
internal structure, consisting of a matrix of right
triangles, a shape we believe embodies the
fundamental principle behind many physical and
mathematical laws.
For example, the Fermat factorization identity,
defined as x.y = [(x+y)/2 ]2- [(x-y)/2 ]2, is used to
transform the product of two numbers into a
relationship that involves the difference of their
squares. Nevertheless, rewriting it as [√(x.y)]2 + [(x-
y)/2 ]2= [(x+y)/2 ]2 transforms it into the familiar form
of a right triangle, with the hypotenuse being the
arithmetic mean of the two numbers (x, y), while one
perpendicular side is the geometric mean and the
other is the differential mean, as shown below.
Figure 14: Fermat's identity transformed into a right triangle
involving the arithmetic, geometric, and differential means.
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This geo-mathematical relationship is another
representation of the sum-product conjecture, which
is one interesting problem in mathematics concerned
with defining the exact relationship between the sum
and product of any two numbers. Needless to say, an
exact solution has eluded mathematicians up till
now8,9. It is assumed that the relationship should
involve geometrical configurations; nevertheless, the
right triangle was never considered. Probably, this is
because no one thought that the solution should
involve the difference of the numbers as well. Thus
for any pair of numbers, x and y, their sum and
product are always bonded through a Pythagorean
relationship that is completed by their difference. (A
table illustrating this triangular relationship for
number pairs (x, y) can be found in Appendix B.)
This trinity of entities conforms with everything in
the natural world, from the atomic world to the
fundamental forces to even numbers. The atom is
defined by three main components, the electron, the
proton, and the neutron. Moreover, the universe is
governed by three main forces, electricity,
magnetism, and gravity. Even propagating
electromagnetic waves have their electric and
magnetic fields perpendicular to each other, as shown
below. (One way the right triangle could be used is to
relate electromagnetism and gravity through their
perspective wave types, longitudinal and transverse10,
which is the subject of currently ongoing research.)
Figure 15: The electric and magnetic fields of electromagnetic
waves propagate perpendicular to each other.
 

Some important physics relationships come in a
triangle form. One such relationship that has greatly
affected our science, as well as fiction, is Einstein's
famous E2 = [mc2]2 + [pc]2, where E is the energy of
the system, m its mass, c is the speed of light, and p is
the momentum. The term mc2 is called the rest mass
of the system. This is a very important equation
defining how energy can be converted into mass and
released back, which is the basis of the nuclear fission
process used in various applications, such as
generating electricity (or in nuclear bombs). And yet,
it is a right triangle equation, with energy being the
hypotenuse.
mc2
though this model in its current state does not offer an
explanation of how these spirals are originally
formed; however, distinct connections have been
observed, where physical attributions of the natural
phenomena can be deduced based on the mods of
their matching triangular spirals. The right triangle
defines these new spirals, as well as many
fundamental physical principles. Understanding how
this peculiar triangulation of physical quantities
manifests in the world is one major step in
understanding the underlying geometry of the
universe and potentially offers a further
understanding of the structure of black holes at the
center of galaxies.

pc
Figure 16: The right triangular relationship of Einstein’s famous
equation E2 = [mc2]2 + [pc]2.

There are many other laws and phenomena that can

be linked directly or indirectly to the right triangle.
We just started to fathom the crucial role this shape
plays in nature, whether geometrically, physically, or
mathematically. And in the spirals, the right triangle
seems to have found its perfect embodiment, and
where it can control everything while hidden in plain
sight.

V. Conclusion
The new class of triangle spirals is shown to match
many natural spiraling phenomena perfectly. Even

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Appendix

A- A chart containing all necessary measurements of the progression base values for shapes with size three up
until 109.

9 
 
 

B- The sum-product table, shown below, displays the right triangles for integers pairs (x, y) in the range of (1-
13) for y and (1-8) for x. This visual representation provides an insight into the behavior of numbers through
their corresponding factors and their means. The colored boxes indicate those numbers that produce similar
triangles (triangles with the same proportions), and where a = √(x.y), b = (x-y)/2, and c = (x+y)/2.

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