Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry. Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in precise terms or in more aesthetic terms. The absence of or violation of symmetry that are either expected or desired can have important consequences for a system.
Male fiddler crab, Uca pugnax
Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge
Puente de la Mujer
Auditorio de Tenerife
Symmetry in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is invariant under some transformations, such as translation, reflection, rotation, or scaling. Although these two meanings of the word can sometimes be told apart, they are intricately related, and hence are discussed together in this article.
Many animals are approximately mirror-symmetric, though internal organs are often arranged asymmetrically.
Seen from the side, the Taj Mahal has bilateral symmetry; from the top (in plan), it has fourfold symmetry.
Clay pots thrown on a pottery wheel acquire rotational symmetry.