Willmore Surface Sculpture
Art In Durham, County Durham
When art meets mathematics you get a geometric granite sculpture.
How do you express a mathematical formula in a sculpture? Peter Sales and Bill Kataky produced a 4-lobed Willmore Torus in light grey granite.
The monument stands near the Calman Centre at the Mountjoy Campus of Durham University. A stone plaque gives some information
Willmore energy quantifies
How much a given surface deviates from a round sphere in differential geometry.
It is useful in understanding cell membranes
The University owns this sculpture along with many other pieces that were procured to the tune of 1.4 million pounds. It was all part of the 2012 build.
The sculpture is composed of two linked tori twisted to a square shape. I wonder how they came to decide the angles and curves?
The torus shape is best described as a ringed donut, and has many applications such as lifebuoys, o-rings, and glass beads
Thomas Willmore (1919 to 2005) studied differential geometry. That is someone who studies the geometry of smooth shapes which dates back to ancient Greece, and Roman times. The word Torus comes from latin meaning bulge/round cushion.
When it comes to understanding the formular for Willmore energy all I can say is Ich bin ein Berliner!
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Contributed by Rosalind Parker
Thank you for reading. I hope it sparks your interest. It’s always a pleasure to get out and explore, whatever the weather. I enjoy uncovering little snippets of information, especially when they’re obscure, amusing, or meaningful. All photos were taken on a mobile phone.
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