Product Description
This desk toy and decorative piece is yet another demonstration that a mathematical curiosity can challenge your intuition of how things move and be a lot of fun to show to your friends!
The sphericon is a shape that can roll, and to roll once every point on its surface must make contact with the surface it rolls on. But here's the catch: It's not a cylinder, and even a cylinder's caps don't touch the supporting surface! The sphericon can be constructed from two cones. As a result of its shape it has a characteristic wobble while it rolls. See it in action (1) (2).
(n, k)-sphericons are a larger class of shapes that have more complex surfaces and correspondingly stranger rolling patterns. These weren't available on Shapeways until now!
This is a (10, 2)-sphericon. Its surface is composed of patches from the surfaces of ten cones. We've combined minimal wire design with this intriguing shape to create a 5½ in tall kinetic sculpture with very low cost.
For the math people, in (the convex hull of) this shape you'll find golden ratios, a ruled and developable surface, and zero Gaussian curvature.
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