Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:


> > not too sure about the choice of colours and lighting, but .. wow.  v cool.
> >
> I certainly agree also about the wow, and I admire the task you have
> achieved. Strange indeed that location and orientation were away from
> the origin. I cannot imagine how the original builders could have
> achieved that...

X-ray crystallography.
And they probably didn't care because they likely have taxpayer purchased
software packages that will parse, assemble, and orient it with a few clicks.

I currently have my nose to the ground, trying to find an algorithm to generate
the inverse of a 9x9 rigid body transform matrix - if I can puzzle that out,
then any object specified with 4 points can be mapped to any other instance with
a transform {matrix{}} statement.
Then I can take one base, look over where it sits somewhere else in the helix,
and calculate exactly how to get it from one place to another.

> > @TdG 'Roman Dodecahedron'.
> >
> > also v cool.  has me wonder, did it have a function, or was it just "decor" ?
> >
> Unknown. Read the wikipedia page attached ;-)

I only read that one page - but it occurred to me that with the different sized
holes and 12 sides, that maybe it some sort of monthly calendar.  If all the
holes were unique sizes you could drop a graduated cone into a hole, and it
would sink down to a unique depth.   But that probably not at all what it was
used for.  :D

- BW

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