Economist (Nov 18, 2000):
".... Konrad Polthier, of
the Technical University of Berlin, pointed out the lengths to which his
predecessors in the study of �minimal surfaces� were prepared to go to
obtain pictures of what
they were doing. In the late
19th century, geometers from G�ttingen would commission plaster
models of certain minimal surfaces, costing exorbitant sums that Dr
Polthier would be lucky to extract from his university�s treasurer.
Fortunately for him, there now exist
�three-dimensional printers�
that, at a cost of a few hundred dollars, will convert one of the
complicated surfaces he draws on his computer into something he can
grasp. .... "
