This seven-inch diameter steel sculpture is made of twenty identical
parts, cut with a computer-controlled plasma cutter. They are assembled
to interlock with icosahedral symmetry, and I had the result powder
coated carmine red. The assembly was quite difficult, taking me several
days, because it all wants to fall apart until the last piece is in
place to lock everything together. No welding, brazing or other "glue"
holds the pieces together, just the springiness of the steel. The
assembly's coherence relies on the mutual support of the parts. It is a
refinement of a puzzle design I
had made in
plastic several years ago, but now I could use thinner parts as the
material is steel.
Above is a computer rendering I made
while
designing the sculpture.
This view looks down a five-fold axis, the same as the computer image
above it.
Above is an image of the actual part
design. It is a simple three-armed
"windmill".
Above is another view,
looking down a three-fold axis, orthogonal to the plane of one part.
This sculpture was part of
the
art exhibit at the 2007 AMS/MAA joint math meeting in New Orleans.
It is used as the cover art for
The
College Mathematics Journal, Vol. 40, No 2, March 2009.
Thank you Tony Vigliotti for providing the powder coating.
Copyright 2006, George W. Hart
