Sphericon

Sphericon animation
STL model of a sphericon
Animation of a rolling sphericon

In solid geometry, the sphericon is a solid that has a continuous developable surface with two congruent, semi-circular edges, and four vertices that define a square. It is a member of a special family of rollers that, while being rolled on a flat surface, bring all the points of their surface to contact with the surface they are rolling on. It was discovered independently by carpenter Colin Roberts (who named it) in the UK in 1969,[1] by dancer and sculptor Alan Boeding of MOMIX in 1979,[2] and by inventor David Hirsch, who patented it in Israel in 1980.[3]

  1. ^ Stewart, Ian (October 1999). "Mathematical Recreations: Cone with a Twist". Scientific American. 281 (4): 116–117. JSTOR 26058451. Archived from the original on 2019-02-12.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference boeding was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ David Haran Hirsch (1980): "Patent no. 59720: A device for generating a meander motion; Patent drawings; Patent application form; Patent claims