Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A domelike structure invented by R. Buckminster Fuller, in which straight structural parts are connected to form interlocking polygons, affording great strength and rigidity combined with light weight. The typical form has the outlines of the top half of an icosahedron, with the triangular spaces filled with structural members forming triangles, hexagons, and squares.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
domed structure oflightweight straight elements forminginterlocking polygons .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a lightweight dome constructed of interlocking polygons; invented by R. Buckminster Fuller
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treeseed commented on the word geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is an almost spherical structure based on a network of great circles (geodesics) lying approximately on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and yet also distribute the stress across the entire structure. It is the only man-made structure that becomes proportionally stronger as it increases in size. When completed to form a full sphere, it is known as a geodesic sphere. Of all known structures made from linear elements, a geodesic dome has the highest ratio of enclosed volume to weight.
The first dome that could be called "geodesic" in every respect was designed just after World War I by Walther Bauersfeld, chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company, for a planetarium to house his new planetarium projector. Some thirty years later R. Buckminster Fuller further investigated this concept and named the dome "geodesic" from field experiments with Kenneth Snelson and others at Black Mountain College in the late 1940s. Although Fuller cannot be said to be the first inventor, he exploited and developed the idea, receiving a U.S. patent.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008