The principle of symmetry of Pierre Curie affirms that “ When the causes of a phenomenon have elements of symmetry, these elements of symmetry are found in the effects. ”

This principle was establishes by Pierre Curie after having observed the electromagnetic properties of the field. It makes it possible to establish invariances, symmetries and even the impossibility of a phenomenon.

The statement of this principle should not be understood in a restrictive direction it is indeed possible that the effects are more symmetrical that the causes.

A generalization of this principle also exists for the physical phenomena including a possibility of junction: for the same cause, two distinct effects physically and which cannot coexist are possible. Sometimes, each possibility taken separately is less symmetrical than the cause. In this case, it is the total symmetry of the whole of the effects which must be taken into account to respect the principle of Curie (example: ferromagnetism of Ba Ti O at low temperature or Buckling of a beam in mechanics of the structures).

Source

• Pierre Curie, On symmetry in the physical phenomena, symmetry of an electric field and a magnetic field (1894)

See too

• Symmetry (physical)