On our last day in the Deutsches Museum we were given several hours to roam the museum ourselves. One place that caught my attention was the mathematics cabinet. Inside I found a section on shapes of constant width. These are interesting shapes that have the same width no matter how you measure it. The most common shape is the circle. However there are several other shapes that have this property too, such as the Reuleaux triangle. It is interesting because these irregular shapes can roll just as smoothly as a circle.
That's actually really cool.
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ReplyDeleteI really liked the idea of those shapes too. They really make you wonder what other kind of shapes have unique properties. It's really strange to think that the triangle-like shape rolls as smoothly as a circle.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the idea of those shapes too. They really make you wonder what other kind of shapes have unique properties. It's really strange to think that the triangle-like shape rolls as smoothly as a circle.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that other shapes besides a circle could have constant widths! It's kind of mind blowing, but I guess it helps to have the mathematical definition of constant width in mind. I feel like teachers should show these objects to kids to show them how cool math can be!
ReplyDeleteI actually just learned about these shapes in a book that I picked up called "Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension." I thought it was really interesting and there is actually a coin that has that triangular shape (if I recall correctly, it is a special coin from Bermuda...). I also really loved the Mathematics exhibit, it was one of my favorites out of the whole museum.
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