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Schwarz's Minimal Surface


Schwarz's minimal surface is a periodic minimal surface constructed using the following two principles:

1. If part of the boundary of a minimal surface is a straight line, then the reflection across the line, when added to the original surface, makes another minimal surface.

2. If a minimal surface meets a plane at right angles, then the mirror image of the plane, when added to the original surface, also makes a minimal surface.

Surfaces similar to Schwarz's minimal surface have been cited among architectural applications of minimal surfaces (Bock Hyeng et al. 2025).


See also

Minimal Surface, Neovius Minimal Surface

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References

Bock Hyeng, C. A.; Krivoshapko, S. N.; Kouamou Nguessi, A.; Yamb Bell, E.; and Bahel, B. "Application of Curvilinear Analytical Surfaces in Forms of Architectural Objects and Machine Building Products." Int. J. Archit. Arts Appl. 11, 19-35, 2025. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijaaa.20251101.13.GRAPE. "Schwarz's P-Surface and Deformation (Hermann Amandus Schwarz)." https://archive.ins.uni-bonn.de/numod.ins.uni-bonn.de/grape/EXAMPLES/AMANDUS/schwarz.html.Wells, D. The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry. London, England: Penguin, pp. 224-225, 1991.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Schwarz's Minimal Surface

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Schwarz's Minimal Surface." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/SchwarzsMinimalSurface.html

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