Rosa Mathematica

grabcad

The inspiration of this design comes from many years ago, when I first learned of polar coordinates and polar functions. For those that do not know, polar coordinates are a way of defining points on a plane based on a radius and an angle. A polar function is a function of radius, based on the angle. I quickly found that there is an elegance to these functions’ swirling, spiraling forms. In class, I used to make new ones on my TI-84- add a term here, multiply the angle there- trying to turn math into something more artistic.This design came from a single equation: The radius equals 3 plus 0.375 times the sine of seventeen-twelfths of the angle, with radius in inches and angle in radians.Breaking it down, from left to right: The center of this design is a circle 3 inches in diameter, and it is 0.75 (two times 0.375) inches thick. The sine indicates the type of polar curve it is: a rose curve, so named because of their fanciful resemblance to flowers. The 17/12 indicates the number of “petals” the curve has (17) and the number of complete circles it makes (12).Some may see math as cold and clinical. With this design, I hope to capture some of its beauty.I included a quote from the U-M Printing Services to show that it can be printed.