Model of the Radius of Torsion of a Twisted Polygon, by Richard P. Baker, Baker #145
Object Details
- Baker, Richard P.
- Description
- This model is one of several hundred designed by Richard P. Baker, a mathematics faculty member at the University of Iowa. It includes a painted sheet metal circle with black lines. Four wires support this. A mark reads: No. 145 (/) TW. POLYGON; RADIUS OF TOR-(/)SION. The object is presently in pieces.
- A twisted polygon is a closed broken line whose sides do not all lie in the same plane. The torsion of any curve in space is a measure of how sharply a curve is twisting out of its plane of curvature. The radius of torsion is the inverse of the torsion.
- In Baker’s 1931 catalog, he included models relating to twisting polygons amidst his models for differential geometry. For representations of twisted polygons, see MA.211257.019, MA.211257.020, and MA.211257.022.
- References:
- Baker, R.P., Mathematical Models, Iowa City, Iowa, 1931, p. 11.
- Smith, C. An Elementary Treatise on Solid Geometry, London: Macmillan, 1897, pp. 199-200.
- “Torsion of a Curve,” Wikipedia, accessed August 28, 2020.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Credit Line
- Gift of Frances E. Baker
- ca 1906-1935
- ID Number
- MA.211257.029
- accession number
- 211257
- catalog number
- 211257.029
- Object Name
- geometric model
- Physical Description
- metal (overall material)
- white (overall color)
- red (overall color)
- black (overall color)
- blue (overall color)
- soldered (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- average spatial: 18.9 cm x 11.5 cm x 19.1 cm; 7 7/16 in x 4 17/32 in x 7 17/32 in
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Mathematics
- Science & Mathematics
- National Museum of American History
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Record ID
- nmah_1081174
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-42d3-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
