Illustration of 3 dimensional geometric spirals created by a fractal computer program. This spiral can be described as a conical or volute spring or as a conic helix. In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a central point, getting progressively farther away as it revolves around the point. A logarithmic spiral, equiangular spiral or growth spiral is a self similar spiral curve which often appears in nature. The logarithmic spiral was first described by Descartes and later extensively investigated by Jacob Bernoulli, who called it Spira mirabilis, the marvellous spiral. The logarithmic spiral can be distinguished from the Archimedean spiral by the fact that the distances between the turnings of a logarithmic spiral increase in geometric progression, while in an Archimedean spiral these distances are constant.