Periodic table of shapes
Encyclopedia
The Periodic table
of mathematical shapes is a concept thought up by Professor Alessio Corti
, from the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London. It aims to categorise all three-, four- and five-dimensional shapes into a single table, analogous to the periodic table
of chemical elements. It is meant to hold the equations that describe each shape and, through this, mathematicians and other scientists expect to develop a better understanding of the shapes’ geometric properties and relations.
It is estimated that 500 million shapes can be defined algebraically in four dimensions, and a few thousand more in the fifth. The project has already won the Philip Leverhulme Prize
—worth £70,000—from the Leverhulme Trust
.
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
of mathematical shapes is a concept thought up by Professor Alessio Corti
Alessio Corti
Alessio Corti is a Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College London working in geometry.He obtained his PhD in 1992 at the University of Utah under the supervision of János Kollár.In 2002, he was awarded the LMS Whitehead Prize.-References:...
, from the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London. It aims to categorise all three-, four- and five-dimensional shapes into a single table, analogous to the periodic table
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
of chemical elements. It is meant to hold the equations that describe each shape and, through this, mathematicians and other scientists expect to develop a better understanding of the shapes’ geometric properties and relations.
It is estimated that 500 million shapes can be defined algebraically in four dimensions, and a few thousand more in the fifth. The project has already won the Philip Leverhulme Prize
Philip Leverhulme Prize
The Philip Leverhulme Prize, awarded by the Leverhulme Trust, is to recognise outstanding young scholars who have made a substantial and recognised contribution to their particular field of study, recognised at an international level, and where the expectation is that their greatest achievement is...
—worth £70,000—from the Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the will of the First Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."...
.