A tetrahedron is the simplest Platonic solid. Mathematicians have now made one that’s stable only on one side, confirming a ...

The results, published in the September issue of PNAS Nexus, reveal what Domokos and colleagues describe as soft cells—rounded forms capable of filling a space entirely thanks to specific ...

Gabor Domokos, head of the department of Mechanics and Materials and Structures at Budapest's Technical University, shows his invention, "Gomboc," in Budapest. Laszlo Balogh / Reuters ...

Domokos et al., PNAS Nexus 2024 under CC BY-NC 4.0 In a cross-section of a chambered shell, the segmented shapes appear to have corners, but the 3D geometry of the chambers does not have any.

That confirmed that cubes were indeed the 3D answer. Now Domokos had the average shapes produced by splitting a flat surface or a three-dimensional block. But then a larger quest emerged.

Prof. Gábor Domokos, mechanics, materials and structures, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, gave the University a gömböc, which was placed in the Math Library on Thursday.

Professor Gábor Domokos, one of the study’s authors, said: “Soft cells explain why, when you look at a cross-section of a chambered shell, it shows corners but the 3D geometry of the chambers ...

Intrigued, Domokos consulted with two theoretical physicists – Ferenc Kun, an expert on fragmentation, and János Török, an expert on statistical and computational models.