MetaFilter posts tagged with polyhedra

Polyhedral Maps

Tube — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:33:53 -0800

Polyhedral Maps is a website that explores unconventional methods of mapping the surface of the earth. The most famous of these unusual maps was Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion map, which used the net of an icosahedron. Da Vinci had experimented with this technique in his “Octant” map of 1514, which used Reuleaux triangles as map elements. This process is now being used by photographers and artists in manipulating panoramic images. A good example is Tom Lechner’s The Wild Highways of the Elongated Pentagonal Orthobicupola.

Twisty megapost

Wolfdog — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 06:28:57 -0800

Walter Randelshofer's Pretty Patterns collection (for Rubik's cubes up to 5x5x5) is one of the nicest twisty puzzle sites going. It's based on his CubeTwister software, which you can download (including a lovely OS X standalone). If you really want a treasure trove of twisty polyhedra, check out gelatinBrain's enormous collection of java applets (which unfortunately don't do so well on macs). Are those things even physically possible? Really? Mini bonus: Randelshofer also hosts an archive of fondly-remembered Amiga animations.

Vlad the Geometer

Burhanistan — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:17:13 -0800

Vladimir Bulatov enjoys making polyhedra and abstract geometric sculptures. Many sculptures available for sale on site. Not affiliated with this or any other geometer!

...the models live in the curved space of the hypersphere...

Wolfdog — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 08:16:17 -0800

Here are some beautifully rendered views of polytopes, and a few more. The rendering program, Jenn 3D, is free and downloadable, (OS X, Linux, Win) and includes some really dazzling fly-about and camera effects as well as tons of high-dimensional models to explore. There's also a mind-boggling possibility of playing Go on boards in projective space. Via the Math Paint blog, which leads to other interesting places...

Just filling space

Wolfdog — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 08:41:25 -0800

The Spidron is an interesting geometric construction that seems to lend itself to folding, dissection, and space-filling in two and three dimensions.

Paper models of polyhedra

carter — Fri, 23 Apr 2004 06:24:25 -0800

Friday Folding Fun! Paper models of polyhedra (most of which I had never heard of before). When finished they look like this. In many cases it's a toss up as to whether they're easier to fold or to pronounce; dodecicosidodecahedrons, anyone? Also: polyhedra info, indexes; and stellated icosahedra by shape and plan.

Polyhedra Polymath

ewagoner — Thu, 19 Dec 2002 12:48:11 -0800

Prof. George W. Hart, of the Computer Science Department at SUNY Stony Brook, has an enviable web presence. His Encyclopedia of Polyhedra alone is worth the visit, his geometric sculptures make the nerd in me weep at their beauty, and his trilobite recipe looks mighty yummy.