Reviews for Mathematics and optimal form

The average rating for Mathematics and optimal form based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-03-25 00:00:00 Ryan Overbeek The book was very good with historical information, but the focus is on bubbles. This is a mathematical book, not meant for the mathematical as it had very little mathematics. It was a publication derived from the Scientific American magazine.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-06-24 00:00:00 Nikko McDowall The german edition of 'Mathematics and Optimal Form' is a fascinating and well explained excursion into the world of optimal 2D and 3D shapes. It does not contain formal proofs but many concise informal proofs, not neglecting the discussion of difficulties such as the neccessity to prove the existence of optima. The shortest path problem, Steiner tree problem, geodesics and shapes of constant curvature with minimal tension get special attention. Also applications and historical discussions take a broad place in this popular science book. The last chapter, on dynamics, is to my taste however not well written and difficult to follow for someone who is not trained in physics. Perhaps it was not very wise to confine this very broad topic to only a single chapter. But all in all, an inspiring popular science book that can widely be understood by laymen without loosing precision.