Customer Reviews

Touching Soap Films [VHS]

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Since a soap film will spontaneously re-form so that the surface area is minimal, they are a practical demonstration of a complex problem in mathematics. Given a specific set of parameters, finding the minimal surface with these characteristics is a hard problem. Stability is also an issue, in that there may be a stable surface, but it is necessary to pass through an unstable state to get there. The surfaces with least area have many practical applications in architecture, physics and chemistry. This video, completely animated via computer, walks you through many of the key surfaces.

The main character is a young boy with a curiosity that prevents him from leaving things alone. He moves through a museum as the surfaces are explained and demonstrated. They are deformed and rotated in a continuous manner so that you can examine all aspects of the surface. This is clearly the highlight of the tape. The deformations are stunning in their smoothness, as you can see every detail of the surface from every angle.

However, while the tape is good, it would be difficult to use it as a distinct educational device. Without some supplemental explanation, most of the discussion would be beyond the reach of most students. Fortunately, the package also contains a small, twenty-page booklet that explains the properties of the surfaces. With that at your disposal, it would be very easy to incorporate the tape into any course on applied mathematics or physics. A further advantage would also be that it would be easy and inexpensive to develop supplemental laboratory demonstrations.

Children have fun with soap bubbles and there is no reason why this fun should stop at an early age. With this video, that fun can be extended into the college classroom, where it is possible to learn mathematics and physics by examining the properties of thin films of soap.

Published in Mathematics and Computer Education, reprinted with permission