Geodesic dome
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles (geodesics) on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When completed to form a complete sphere, it is a geodesic sphere. A dome is enclosed, unlike open geodesic structures such as playground climbers.
Typically a geodesic dome design begins with an icosahedron inscribed in a hypothetical sphere, tiling each triangular face with smaller triangles, then projecting the vertices of each tile to the sphere. The endpoints of the links of the completed sphere are the projected endpoints on the sphere's surface. If this is done exactly, sub-triangle edge lengths take on many different values, requiring links of many sizes. To minimize this, simplifications are made. The result is a compromise of triangles with their vertices lying approximately on the sphere. The edges of the triangles form approximate geodesic paths over the surface of the dome.
Geodesic designs can be used to form any curved, enclosed space. Standard designs tend to be used because unusual configurations may require complex, expensive custom design of each strut, vertex and panel.
See also
- Cloud nine (Tensegrity sphere)
- Concrete dome
- Dome
- Domed city
- Fullerenes, molecules which resemble the geodesic dome structure
- Geodesic airframe
- Geodesic grid
- Geodesic tents
- Gridshell
- Hoberman sphere
- Hugh Kenner, who wrote Geodesic Math and How to Use It
- Monolithic dome
- Pentakis dodecahedron
- Radome
- Shell structure
- Silent Running 1972 science fiction film prominently featuring geodesic domes.
- Sindome An online Cyberpunk RPG that takes place in a giant geodesic dome.
- Space frames
- Stepan Center
- Synergetics
- Truncated icosahedron
- Truss
