In the fifth decade BC, Leucippus and Democritus had considered matter to be formed of indivisible particles, atoms, which were of all dimensions and forms. Pythagoreans presented the universe from the point of view of mathematics, asserting that everything is made up of numbers.
Plato believes, like Empedocles, that matter is a combination of the four fundamental elements: fire, air, water and earth. In his book Timaeus (c.360BC), he makes known a new theory, equating the tetrahedron with the element fire, the octahedron with air, the icosahedron with water, the cube with earth and the dodecahedron with the stuff of which the constellations and heavens were made [30].
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Baker JE, Tarnai T (2004) On modelling an expandable virus. In: Huang T (ed) 11th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, China Machine Press Tianjin 3, 1295–1299.
Burkhardt RW Jr (2008) A practical guide to tensegrity design, http://bobwb.Tripod.com.
Burkhardt B (2007) Tensegrity tetrahedron, http://members.tripod.com/bobwb/synergetics/photos/datasheets.html#tetra4spec.
UH RF, Kroto HW, Smalley RE Press Release: The 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry, nobelprize.org/no belprizes/chemistry/laureates/1996/press.html.
Denton M, Marshall Etkin B (2001) Laws of form revised. Nature 410, 417.
Farr G (2002) The human cell, http://www.becomehealthynow.com/ebookrint.php?id=709.
Flemons TE (2006) The geometry of anatomy – the bones of tensegrity, http://www.intensiondesigns.com/itd-biotensegrity/biotensegrity/papers/geometry of anatomy.html.
Friedlander P (1958) Plato: An Introduction. Harper & Row, New York, http://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/timaeus.htm.
Fuller B (1961) Tensegrity. Portofolio and Art News Annual 4, 112, 127, 144, 148, http://www.rwgrayprojects.com/rbfnotes/fpapers/tensegrity/teneg01.html
Guest SM, Kovacs F, Tarnai T, Fowler PW (2004) Construction of a mechanical model for the expansion of a virus, http://www.2.2ng.cam.ac.uk/-sdg/pre print/virusmodel.pdf.
Hunter S (2005) Posting by Spencer Hunter, bit.listserv.geodesic, http://members.tripod.com/bobwb/synergetics/photos/spencer.html.
Ingber DE (2003) Tensegrity I. Journal of Cell Science 116, 1157–1173.
Ingber DE (2003) Tensegrity II. Journal of Cell Science 116, 1397–1408.
Ingber DE (1998) The architecture of the life, Scientific American Magazine 278, 48–57.
Ingber DE (1993) Cellular tensegrity: defining new rules of biological design that govern the cytoskeleton. Journal of Cell Science 104, 613–627.
Jauregui VG (2004) Tensegrity structures and their application to architecture. Thesis for M.Sc. in Arhitecture, School of Architecture, Queen's University, Belfast, http://www.alumnos.unican.es/uc1279/TensegrityStructures.html.
Jensen F, Pellegrino S (2005) Expandable “Bob” structures. Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures 46(3), 151–159.
Judge A (1980) Vector equilibrium and its transformation pathways, http://laetusinpraesens.org.
Kovacs BF, Tarnai T, Guest SD, Fowler PW (2004) Double-link expandohedra: a mechanical model for expansion of a virus, http://biophysics.asu.edu/banffiles/guest/double.pdf.
Levin SM (2007) Hang in there! The statics and dynamics of pelvic mechanics. http://www.biotensegrity.com/.
Levin SM (2002) The tensegrity-truss as a model for spine mechanics: biotensegrity, http://www.biotensegrity.com/.
Levin SM (1997) Putting the shoulder to the wheel: a new biomechanical model for the shoulder girdle, http://www.biotensegrity.com/.
Levin SM (1995) The importance of soft tissues for structural support of the body, http://www.biotensegrity.com/.
Levin SM (1980) Continuous tension, discontinuous compression: a model for biomechanical support of the body, http://www.biotensegrity.com/.
Micheletti A, Williams W (2007) A marching procedure for form-finding for tensegrity structures. Journal of Mechanics of Materials and Structures 5, 857 882, http://www.math.cmu.edu/users/wow/papers/marching.pdf.
Muddana HS (2006) Integrated biomechanical model of cells embedded in extracellular matrix. Thesis for Master of Science, Texas A&M University, http://research.cs.tamu.edu/bnl/papers/muddana.thesis06.pdf.
Paul C, Lipson H, Valero-Cuevas FJ (2005) Evolutionary form-finding of tensegrity structures. In: The 2005 Conference on Genetic and Evolutionary Computation, http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/papers/GECCO05 Paul.pdf.
Paul C, Roberts J, Lipson H, Valero-Cuevas FJ (2005) Gait production in a tensegrity based robot. In: The 2005 International Conference on Advanced Robotics, http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/papers/ICAR05 Paul.pdf.
Paul C, Valero-Cuevas FJ, Lipson H (2006) Design and control of tensegrity robots for locomotion. IEEE Transactions on Robotics 22(5), 944–957.
Plato (360 BC) Timaeus, http://www.ellopos.net.
Raducanu V, Motro R (2001) Patent 2 823 287, Stable self-balancing system for building component.
Snelson K (1948) http://www.kennethsnelson.
Tibert AG (2002) Deployable tensegrity structures for space applications. Ph.D. dissertation, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Tibert AG, Pellegrino S (2003) Deployable tensegrity masts, http://www.2.mech.kth.se/-gunnar/AIAA-2003-1978.pdf.
Tibert AG, Pellegrino S (2003) Review of form-finding methods for tensegrity structures. International Journal of Space Structures 18(4), 209–223.
Wesley N (1999) The anatomy lesson, http://home.comcast.net.
Wohlhart K (2007) Cupola linkages. In: Merlet JP, Dahan M (eds) 12th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science I, 319–324.
Wohlhart K (2005) Double pyramidal linkages. In SYROM I, 293–300.
Wohlhart K (2001) New regular polyhedral linkages. In SYROM II, 365–370.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Cretu, SM. (2009). Tensegrity as a Structural Framework in Life Sciences and Bioengineering. In: Awrejcewicz, J. (eds) Modeling, Simulation and Control of Nonlinear Engineering Dynamical Systems. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8778-3_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8778-3_27
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8777-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8778-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)