Solids In The World Around Us (1963)

of mathematics which deals with and studies the properties measurements and relations of lines angles surfaces and solids because our world is made up of a vast assortment of these objects objects having an unlimited variety of shapes and sizes a working knowledge of geometry has become a vital necessity for everyone whether we realize it or not not each one of us has been in contact with geometry since the time of our birth one of our first Dwelling Places was probably one of these rectangular prisms our first meal from a bottle shaped like a cylinder as we grew and developed more and more geometrical forms entered our lives in New and fascinating ways [Applause] [Music] you wonderful though they are the years of childhood take away and as they do our experiences and Concepts begin to change form and proportion or size begin to have new meaning there comes an age when even the Wonderland of nature can be seen as a fascinating assortment of variations on the [Music] circle the triangle the square [Music] if we train our eyes to observe we may see geometric designs we have never noticed before he [Music] and so it goes again and again we find nature to be a miracle of geometric Harmony and design but this is true of the entire physical Universe what are you interested in sports without the sphere many of our favorite pastimes would be non-existent without wheels tubes and cylinders the hot rod would belong to yet another age [Music] think of where rock and roll would be without the circular platter or high-fi without the role of magnetic [Music] tape how many variations on the circle and the square can be found in an amusement part n [Music] [Applause] all of these things that are made for fun require a knowledge of solid geometry in their manufacturer this is a highly technical Civ ization everywhere we look we find application of geometric principles utilization of various shapes and designs [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] w [Music] geometry has become an indispensable tool of mankind it is used constantly by the Builder the engineer the Craftsman and the principal key to tomorrow's development is here in the student in in the classroom today it is here that we start with simple Concepts we build a foundation for tomorrow's understanding of the more complex we may have learned for example that a point can be represented by a DOT even though it is thought of as having neither length width nor thickness we may also have learned that a line is a succession of points or a set of points if two points are located on a line the part of the line between them is called a line segment and is spoken of as having one dimension or length if we draw two lines from a single point we form an angle if we add yet another line in this manner we obtain a figure which lies in a plane the lines have become sides and our figure a triangle in much the same manner we draw quadrilaterals pentagons hexagons octagons yes even circles we call the study of these figures plain geometry we become familiar with such terms as circumference diameter radius cord tangent segment sector concentric circles all of these figures may be drawn on a flat surface or plane and are often referred to as two-dimensional figures now let us consider figures which are found in space instead of circles we will now consider spheres cones and cylinders instead of triangles pyramids instead of squares and various polygons we will now consider cubes prisms and other polyhedrons these are sometimes known as figures in three dimension or figures in space or merely solids we call the study of such figures solid geometry with a knowledge of solid geometry we can better evaluate and make use of the physical world around us remember the question they used to ask you when you were just a little Ty what are you going to be when you grow up well it's about time to start thinking seriously about it what are you going to be an engineer a chemist an architect perhaps you'll be a farmer a test pilot regardless of what you do you'll find that almost daily there is need for the application of some geometric principle if you as a student can see and understand this now the subject of solid geometry will contain the challenge of a lifetime by mastering the subject you'll be claiming for yourself a greater appreciation of form and size a better understanding of the shapes that make for progress