Transcription
What if I told you that for any line you can draw, there's a shape that could follow it? In a new discovery, a team of mathematicians from The Institute for Basic Sciences have devised an algorithm to create a shape that follows almost any path you can come up with.
They began with this simple idea: roll a sphere of clay along a path while pressing down on it. The indentations that form make the sphere follow the exact path. Using that idea, they devised a computer algorithm to figure out the exact indents needed to trace any path.
To turn theory into reality, they used a huge 3D printer to actually create these shapes. They placed a steel ball bearing inside so they'd roll just right, and they've given these shapes a name: trajectoids.
The team thinks these trajectoids could be useful in things like robotics or even some intricate physics stuff related to electron spins. Subscribe for more mind-blowing math.