Explain this
Closepacks & Quasi-closepacks
How the publisher describes it:
“Presents the closepacks as assemblies of polyhedra that fill three dimensions; includes truncations and quasitruncations; investigates fully the {4,3,4} symmetry family, using the tetrahedral and cubic polyhedra as building blocks.”
Review by Paul Gailiunas
In brief:
I have always felt that this series probably has a limited use in schools. Even the earlier volumes, which deal with more easily imagined objects, do not have the immediate appeal of, say, Magnus Wenninger’s works. The style of the commentary is generally very concise, and while it is perfectly clear to anyone who is familiar with the principles involved, I usually need to think very carefully before I feel confident that I understand properly what is going on.
“I find many of the images far from obvious”
This is the fifth part of a series devoted to polyhedra and related objects, such as tilings. By relaxing some of the traditional requirements (for example by allowing a single circuit of a polygon to go over the same side more than once) and systematically applying a process of truncation, many interesting forms have been produced. This volume is concerned with space-filling arrangements of polyhedra, which join face-to face leaving no gaps. The author recognises that visualising these arrangements requires considerable effort, even given the figures that illustrate every example, but he obviously feels that it is worthwhile. Even though I have spent a lot of time thinking about polyhedra and space-filling, building models and producing computer images of them, I must admit that I find many of the images far from obvious.
I have always felt that this series probably has a limited use in schools. Even the earlier volumes, which deal with more easily imagined objects, do not have the immediate appeal of, say, Magnus Wenninger’s works. The style of the commentary is generally very concise, and while it is perfectly clear to anyone who is familiar with the principles involved, I usually need to think very carefully before I feel confident that I understand properly what is going on. I have found these books useful as works of reference, but I would not recommend them as an introduction.
All of the series are priced at £6, so they are affordable, and if an interested student came across any of them in a school library they might be stimulated to explore some of the ideas, but I fear that they might just as likely be frightened off.
Paul Gailiunas • Teacher, Tyneside
Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Nattygrafix (13 Dec 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0951670166
ISBN-13: 978-0951670163
Product Dimensions: 29.2 x 20.2 x 1 cm
