From: Charles J Knight (c.knight_at_juno.com)
Date: 03/23/00
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 12:17:44 -0800 Subject: Re: Double-wall skin Message-ID: <20000323.122128.-339881.1.c.knight@juno.com> From: Charles J Knight <c.knight_at_juno.com>
> > similarly to bicycle wheels. A single rigid "axle"
>
> Yes! that's it. (Bucky, too, used the bicycle wheel example in
> describing
> the minimum number of vectors interacting to limit movement.
I thought it was a good idea...always wanted to build one too, but
never got around to it. (There are a LOT of things I want to do,
but who has time? It would take me the entirety of the next century
just to try my current ideas, let alone any new ones I come up with.)
> > Something similar could easily be done with tensile
> > membranes. Radial tent structures could connect between
> > the "axle" and the tension ring, resulting in a double
>
> And very lightweight. I think what we're describing is essentially a
> tensegrity, although in all the tensegrities I've ever seen, the
> struts
> are aligned along the dome skin instead of perpendicular to the skin
In essence it's a tensegrity. But far simpler than most of them. If
all goes well (and when does it ever?) I'll make my first hypar panel
from fabric this weekend. Gotta' swing by Wal Mart to get some
fabric first, though.
I'm excited -- I think I figured out patterning!
-- Chuck Knight
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