2017/12/20 by Mohammad Ghomi · 1 citation
Engineering · Computer Science · #Structural Analysis and Optimization #Computational Geometry and Mesh Generation #Advanced Materials and Mechanics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1090/noti1609
openalex publication_date 2017/12/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Convex polyhedra are among the oldest mathematical objects. Indeed the five platonic solids, which constitute the climax of Euclid's books, were already known to the ancient people of Scotland some 4,000 years ago; see Figure During the Renaissance, polyhedra were remarkable confluence of art and mathematics once again objects of fascination while painters were discovering the rules of perspective and laying the foundations of projective geometry. This remarkable confluence of art and mathematics was personified in a number of highly creative individuals including the German painter Albrecht Drer, who was based in Nremberg at the dawn of the sixteenth century and is credited with ushering in the Renaissance in Northern Europe. During extended trips over the Alps, Drer learned the rules of perspective from his Italian contemporaries, and he subsequently described them in his influential book, The Painter's Manual. Aside from being the first geometry text published in German, this work is remarkable for containing the first recorded examples of unfoldings of polyhedra; see Figure