Johannes Kepler's Polyhedra

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), best known for his three laws of planetary
motion, was one of the most outstanding mathematicians of his day. In
addition to his astronomical accomplishments, he systematized and extended all
that was known about polyhedra in his time. While
previous artist/geometers discovered particular polyhedra, he took a more
mathematical approach: he defined classes of polyhedra, discovered the
members of the class, and proved that his set was complete. For example,
Kepler discovered the infinite class of antiprisms.

Kepler's logical approach to polyhedra does not mean that he was free of the
mysticism of the day. The following illustration, from his 1619
book, Harmonice Mundi, graphically shows the Platonic associations of the
regular solids with the classical elements: The tetrahedron corresponds to fire,
the octahedron to air, the cube to earth, the icosahedron to water, and
the dodecahedron to the cosmos or ether:

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), cunoscut mai ales pentru cele trei legi sale de
micare planetar, a fost unul dintre matematicienii cele mai remarcabile din
vremea sa. n plus fa de realizrile sale astronomice, a sistematizat i a extins
tot ce era cunoscut despre poliedre n timpul su. n timp ce artist / geometri
anterioare descoperite special poliedre, el a luat o abordare mai matematica: a
definit clase de poliedre, a descoperit membrii clasei, i a dovedit c setul lui
era complet. De exemplu, Kepler a descoperit clasa infinit de antiprisms.
The lower-left portion of the above figure illustrates Kepler's two star
polyhedra, the small stellated dodecahedron and the great stellated
dodecahedron. Although earlier illustrations of these solids exist, Kepler was
the first to recognize them as meeting the definition of regular polyhedra, but
with nonconvex pentagram faces. (An earlier mosaic of the small stellated
dodecahedron is attributed toUccello and an earlier drawing of the great
stellated dodecahedron appears in the work of Jamnitzer.) Kepler saw them
from a deeper perspective, and in recognition, we now refer to these as Kepler
solids.
Abordare logic Kepler a poliedre nu nseamn c el a fost lipsit de misticismul
a zilei. Ilustraia urmtoare, din 1619 cartea sa, Harmonice Mundi, arat grafic
asociaiile platonice ale solidelor regulate cu elemente clasice: tetraedrul
corespunde foc, octoedrul la aer, cub de pmnt, icosahedron la ap, i
dodecaedrul a cosmosului sau eter:

The lo wer- right

portion of the above figure illustrates the disassembly of two rhombic solids
which Kepler discovered: the rhombic dodecahedron and the rhombic
triacontahedron. (An illustration of an approximation to the triacontahedron is
clear in one of Jamnitzer's monuments drawn fifty years earlier, but Kepler
certainly had a much deeper understanding of the triacontahedron's structure
and its relationships to other polyhedra.) Below, left, Kepler shows how a
dodecahedron can be constructed by adding "roofs" to the six sides of a cube
(the construction which Euclid uses). Below, right, is how Kepler constructs a
rhombic dodecahedron analogously. These figures are from his book Epitome
of Copernican Astronomy.

Poriunea din stnga-jos a figura de mai sus ilustreaz poliedre dou stele lui
Kepler, mic dodecaedrul stelat i marele dodecaedrul stelat. Dei exist
ilustraii anterioare ale acestor solide, Kepler a fost primul s le recunoasc ca
ndeplinind definirea poliedre regulate, dar cu chipuri pentagrama nonconvex.
(Un mozaic anterioar mici dodecaedrul stelat este atribuit toUccello i un
desen mai devreme de mare dodecaedrul stelat apare n lucrarea Jamnitzer.)
Kepler le-a vzut dintr-o perspectiv mai profund, i n semn de recunoatere,
acum se refer la aceste sub form de solide Kepler.
In, Harmonice Mundi, Kepler also defined the class of convex uniform
polyhedra which we call the Archimedean solids, unfamiliar with the fact that
Archimedes had defined the class already. All of these polyhedra except one
(the snub dodecahedron, number 13 at the bottom right below) had already
appeared in the work of various Renaissance artists. But those artists were
haphazard, and wrote as if there could be an infinite number of related
polyhedra which they were selecting from. Kepler's important contribution was
to define this class of polyhedra and systematically explore it, to find all its
members and prove his set was complete. In doing so, he realized that
the prisms and antiprisms belong to the same class, since at each vertex the
same combination of regular polygons meet.

Din dreapta jos parte a figura de mai sus ilustreaz demontarea dou solide
rombice care Kepler a descoperit: dodecaedrul rombic i triacontahedron
rombic. (O ilustrare a unui aproximare a triacontahedron este clar ntr-unul
dintre monumentele Jamnitzer lui atras cincizeci ani mai devreme, dar Kepler a
avut cu siguran o nelegere mult mai profund a structurii triacontahedron i
relaiile sale cu alte poliedre.) Mai jos, stnga, Kepler arat cum un dodecaedru
poate fi determinat prin adugarea "acoperiuri" celor ase laturi ale unui cub
(construcie care utilizeaz Euclid). Mai jos, dreapta, cum Kepler construiete
un dodecaedru rombic analog. Aceste cifre sunt de la cartea sa rezumatul de
Copernic Astronomie.
In my view, a most artistic contribution of Kepler is to be found in his model of
the solar system. Kepler proposed that the distance relationships between the
six planets known at that time could be understood in terms of the five Platonic
solids. His 1596 book, Mysterium Cosmographicum, proposed the model
illustrated below, in which one Platonic solid fits between each pair of
planetary spheres. (Note the use of Leonardo's style of open faces.)
n, Harmonice Mundi, Kepler a definit, de asemenea, clasa de convex poliedre
uniform pe care o numim solidele arhimedice, nefamiliare cu faptul c
Arhimede a definit clasa deja. Toate aceste poliedre cu excepia unuia
(dodecaedrul crn, numrul 13 n partea de jos dreapta jos) a aprut deja n
activitatea de diveri artiti Renasterii. Dar aceste artisti au fost ntmpltoare,
i a scris ca i n cazul n care ar putea exista un numr infinit de poliedre
conexe care au fost selectai de la. Contribuie important Kepler a fost de a
defini aceasta clasa de poliedre i sistematic l exploreze, s gseasc tuturor
membrilor si i s demonstreze setul lui era complet. n acest sens, el a dat
seama c prismele i antiprisms aparin aceleiai clase, deoarece la fiecare nod
aceeai combinaie de poligoane regulate ntlnesc.
n opinia noastr, o contribuie mai artistic de Kepler se afl n modelul su din
sistemul solar. Kepler a propus ca relaiile distanta dintre cele ase planete
cunoscute n acel moment ar putea fi neleas n termeni de cinci solide
platonice. 1596 Cartea sa, Mysterium Cosmographicum, a propus modelul
ilustrat mai jos, n care unul potriveste solide platonice ntre fiecare pereche de
sfere planetare. (Not utilizarea de stil a lui Leonardo de fee deschise.)

Sfera exterior este cel al Saturn; interiorul este sfera lui Jupiter. Kepler a fcut
dou prototipuri din hrtie colorat n sperana de a avea o fabricate n argint.
Planul lui iniial a fost c va funciona, de asemenea, ca un Punchbowl
distribuirea buturilor asortate.

Imaginea din dreapta este o closeup a sferelor de planete interioare, Mercur,

Venus, Pmnt, i Marte. Acesta este un model de frumos astronomice. De
exemplu, se explic de ce exist doar ase planete: Cum ar putea exista o saptea
planeta, cnd Euclid a demonstrat c exist doar cinci solide platonice!
Desigur, modelul este complet fals, distanele interplanetare se prezice nu sunt
suficient de exacte i Kepler a fost om de stiinta suficient pentru a accepta
 aceast din urm. Dar un exemplu excelent al modului adevr i frumusee nu
sunt ntotdeauna echivalente.
The outer sphere is that of Saturn; inside it is the sphere of Jupiter. Kepler
made two prototypes in colored paper hoping to have it fabricated in silver. His
original plan was that it would also function as a punchbowl dispensing
assorted beverages.

The image at right is a closeup of the

spheres of inner planets, Mercury,
Venus, Earth, and Mars. This is a
beautiful astronomical model. For
example, it explains why there are only
six planets: How could there be a
seventh planet, when Euclid proved
that there are only five Platonic
solids! Of course, the model is
completely false, the interplanetary
distances it predicts are not sufficiently
accurate, and Kepler was scientist
enough to accept this eventually. But it
an excellent example of how truth and beauty are not always equivalent.