cut and glued (overall production method/technique)
Measurements:
average spatial: 11 cm x 7.8 cm x 7.8 cm; 4 11/32 in x 3 1/16 in x 3 1/16 in
Object Name:
geometric model
Place made:
United States: Massachusetts, Worcester
Date made:
1927 02 23
Description:
Joining points along the radius of two circles generates a family of straight lines. If the circles are at their maximum separation, the lines form a cylinder. When rotated, the circles approach and the surface becomes a hyperboloid of one sheet. Further rotation (not possible on this model) yields a double cone.
String models with elegant brass frames sold for engineering and mathematics education sold from the nineteenth century (see 1985.0112.009). Philip Malmberg, a high school student of A. Harry Wheeler, made this inexpensive version of the surface. He used disks cut from a cardboard box, leftover spools from thread, a wooden dowel, a bit of wire, and thread. Census records indicate that Malmberg went on to work as a draftsman.
