Thread model of a movable single-shell hyperboloid
Martin Schilling / 1917
Single-shell hyperboloid and confocal double-shell hyperboloid (plaster)
On the single-shell one: the straight lines; on the double-shell one: intersecting lines with a confocal ellipsoid. Laterally: confocal conic sections as plane section curves.
1900-1930
Rod model of a movable single-shell hyperboloid
Hermann Wiener / 19120
Model of a hyperboloid gearbox
The hyperboloid gear is built from two drums, both of which have the shape of a hyperbolic surface and perfect contact with each other. Thus, attempts have been made to develop gears with better mechanical properties.
Collection of Mathematical Models and Instruments
More than 500 objects are on display, including many geometric models made of plaster, wood, cardboard, thread or metal, as well as calculating machines, drawing instruments, integraphs, kinematic and mechanical models. The oldest models are cardboard polyhedra from 1780, but most of the objects date from the period between 1870 and 1920 and provide a rich insight into the mathematics of this era, when Göttingen became one of the most important mathematical centres in the world at the time.
