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Online Visualization and Web Services

Mathematics and Arts (Mauberge 2000)

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. .... "