Tensegrity Amoeba

Tensegrity Amoeba (JPEG 32k), is the result of contemplating the geometry of the Timestar through the perspective of synergetic geometry over time on the mailing list: synergetics-l@teleport.com.

On July 16,1995, Gerald de Jong wrote this essay: Geometry of the Timestar (Text4k)

In the animation, Tensegrity Amoeba (Quicktime movie 585k), the tensegrity jitterbug (method of cycling between positive/negative tetrahedron-see TENSEGRITY JITTERBUG section) has been incorporated in a design which uses seven axes of rotational symmetry to fuse 3 & 4 fold with 5 fold symmetry in a cyclic transformation of one tetrahedron through the 5 timestar tetra positions. The (4) purple axes are perpendiculars to the 4 planes of the tetrahedron and the (3) green axes are perpendiculars to the 6 planes of the cube. These same axes would be perpendiculars to the 4 pairs of triangular and 3 pairs of square faces in the VE (vector equilibrium). As the model transforms, the purple axes rotate on diametrically opposing vertices of the pentagonal dodecahedron and the green axes intersect the p-dodeca mid-edge points as each of the 5 tetra are formed.