Jitterbug
Index Entry
Jitterbug:
"You may remember my manipulation of the flexibly jointed vector equilibrium of 24 external vector members. You may remember that this device, which I call the 'jitterbug,' had the unique property whereby each of the diametrically opposed eight triangles moves towards its polarly opposed triangle in such a manner that the vertexes of the opposed triangles always remain in fixed positions opposite the mid-edges of their respectively opposed triangles; i.e., there are symmetrically reciprocal axes of co-rotation. You may recall that the jitterbug, when so manipulated, contracts in a comprehensively symmetrical manner as the system's 12 vertexes approach their common system's center at the same rates--as the system transformed from the vector equilibrium, through its icosahedral stage, to its octahedral stage, and finally, with polar torque introduced as a consequence of the momentum of the contraction, the whole system contracted into the tetrahedral phase."
angular
Citations
- RBF Ltr. to Dr. Robt. Horn, 1 Dec '65, p. 2
