Accession No

4470

Brief Description

mathematical knitted model showing interpenetrating surfaces (aka topology of interlacing surfaces), by Alexander Crum Brown, Scottish, 1885

Origin

Scotland; Edinburgh

Maker

Crum Brown, Alexander

Class

mathematics; demonstration

Earliest Date

1885

Latest Date

1885

Inscription Date

Material

organic (wool)

Dimensions

breadth 85mm; length 140mm; thickness 37mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Once belonged to A. Hutchinson, who was given the model in 1914.

Inscription

‘Interpenetrating Surfaces
Knitted by
Alexander Crum Brown, F.R.S.
Professor of Chemistry
in the University of Edinburgh
born 26 Mar 1838 died 28 Oct 1922.’ (on brown paper label)
‘given to me in August 1914
A. Hutchinson’ (on reverse of label)

Description Notes

A circular tube of three layers of intertwined knitted surfaces. Made up of diamond shapes. Colours used are red, green and purple. Attached is a brown paper label (see inscription).

Condition good; complete

References

David Dunning; 'Knitted Interpenetrating Surfaces'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge; 2014: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/models/knitted-interpenetrating-surfaces

Events

Description
Before the advent of computers, an effective way of modeling complex three-dimensional mathematical functions was to use string models, such as objects no. 5175 and no. 5795 in the Whipple Collection. Scottish mathematician Alexander Crum Brown (1838–1922) used another technique—knitting—to model interpenetrating surfaces. Each colour of wool represented a different surface in the model, which enabled Crum Brown to demonstrate the interpenetration of multiple surfaces previously ‘modeled’ using mathematical functions. This example relates to the mathematical surfaces described in Crum Brown’s 1885 paper ‘On a case of interlacing surfaces’. He produced at least thirteen different models using a knitting technique. Other media in which Crum Brown experimented are leather and papier-mâché. This model had been a gift to A. Hutchinson from Crum Brown in August 1914.

11/03/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 11/03/2014

FM:40179