Artifacts of Research: On Singularities

Jonathan D. Chertok1 (Universal Joint)2

In the following we will describe the geometric configurations of this surface. I trust you will find both the models and the animation instructive.

Addendum: The Clebsch Diagonal Surface Configuration

1. Introduction
In the case of the Clebsch Diagonal Cubic we see a "smooth" cubic surface, as opposed to the singular cubic surfaces, which is in fact the "god-head" from which the other models of the singularities spring. Effectively, by removing lines from the Clebsch Diagonal Cubic, one can arrive at the models for the other singularities. This model in particular has historical significance and has been touched upon by a number of early machine designers in addition to mathematicians.3

2. 27 Lines
The surface has 27 lines on it. This is the maximum possible number of straight lines on a cubic surface if, as a geometer would say, "the lines are finite". If there are infinite lines on the surface then it could be any number of ruled cubics - four of which are shown in the Rodenberg Series. This is one of the reasons this model is so famous. Anyway, these lines are straight lines but for mathematicians it is only necessary to say lines. Oddly in nurbs-CAD we say "curves". The lines are either skew - they pass each other without intersecting - or they are co-planar - and thus they intersect. There is a special case of co-planar, which are parallel lines, but there are no parallel lines on the Clebsch Diagonal Surface. 12 of the lines from the 27 were studied by Ludwig Schfli (1814 1895). These are called Schflis Double-Six in English. This arrangement consists of six pairs of skew lines (remember this means they do not intersect). These are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. A pair would be 1 and 1 or 2 and 2 and so on. Most of the lines however cross each other. Lines numbered 1 6 get crossed by lines numbered 1 6. The only exception here is that lines with the same number (e.g. 1 and 1) do not touch each other. Again, these are the pairs of skew lines. Thus each line from 1 6 is coplanar (they intersect) with each line from 1 6 (excepting its prime as stated earlier). Similarly, each line from 1 6 is coplanar with each line from 1 6 (again excepting its non-prime). In the case of the Clebsch Diagonal Cubic, only four of these five intersecting lines intersect within the model and one intersects lower down beyond the base of the model.

Figure 3: Recreated Clebsch Diagonal with lines c.2008. Chertok 2008. The Clebsch Diagonal was originally discovered and documented by Alfred Clebsch (1833 1872). Both the transparent models and white plaster-based models you see are in some sense recreations of the original plaster model from the model collection that was originally made by hand in plaster in the 1860s. While no documentation of the original fabrication exists, we do have the original recipe for the modeling clay. In addition to serving as an interesting analogue to contemporary RP materials, it is quite charming as it calls for white blotting paper, 1 Liters of river water, 10 Marks of essence of lavender, 10 Marks of essence of clove, a tin container and a porcelain bowl among other things. Like the other models in this exhibition, you are looking at the outside of the surface. If you can visualize the fact that the surface continues upward, downward and beyond the extent of the cylinder that has been used to trim the exterior portion, then you have a good jump on understanding this surface. Just think of the model as hollow. Unlike the other models in this exhibition it has no singularity type associated with it, as it is non-singular; it is smooth.

Figure 4: Still from the animation c.2008

There are 15 other lines called the Diagonal Lines. These are 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24, 25, 26, 34, 35, 36, 45, 46, and 56. These run horizontally and vertically. These lines are given two digit numbers. Line 12 intersects the plane described by lines 1 and 2 and the plane described by lines 1 and 2. Similarly line 23 intersects the plane described by lines 2 and 3 and the plane described by lines 2 and 3. One does not need a line 21 as it is coincident with line 12. Similarly for 32 as it would be coincident with line 23.

Figure 5: Clebsch Diagonal Surface c. 1860.

4. Passages
Lets return briefly to this idea that this is a surface with two sides and look at the idea of Passages which was a classical idea that was apparently used "intuitively".4 There are seven passages in the model a fact that is related to the Coxeter-Dynkin Diagram which we will discuss in another paper. Three are just obvious. They are the three holes in the surface. The other three are a little higher, rotated by 60 degrees and up at the ears. Actually these three passages help us find the seventh passage. Just jump into one of the ears, continue toward the middle and then drop down through the waist this is the seventh passage.

3. Additional Geometric Objects

There are 30 points through which 2 pairs of lines intersect. 24 of these exist within the extent of the model. 6 are beyond the extents of the model. This makes for a total of 12 lines that have 5 intersections along their full length. We discussed these earlier when we talked about the numbering. There are also 10 points at which 3 of the 27 lines meet. These are called Eckardt Points. 7 of these intersections exist within the extent of the model and 3 are outside the model. The three horizontal planes are simply pointing out three sets of three lines that are part of the 15 Diagonal Lines. The three angled planes are formed by three pairs of lines, which are pointing out the other remaining lines from the 15 Diagonal Lines. James Joseph Sylvester (1814 1897) discovered the Sylvester Pentahedron, which is a five sided object described by the bottom two horizontal planes and the three angled planes. One triangle at the top and one at the bottom and four isosceles trapeziums as the sides (just think of these as triangles with their tops chopped off). Apparently this is important because the planes of the sides of this pentahedron can be described by equations which can also describe the equation for the actual surface of the Clebsch Diagonal Surface. For more on this we would need to consult a geometer.

6. Coxeter-Dynkin Diagram

5. Numbering Script
In total there are 36 different ways to number the lines on the Clebsch Diagonal Surface according to the rules above. Currently research indicates that the numbering on the original models was done at the Universities that received the model, and not at the point of manufacture. As a final exercise I intend to run a computer based script in Rhinoceros 3d modeling software defining all the possible combinations of numbering by querying the CAD geometry and the documented relationships inherent in the geometry. This exercise would provide an opportunity to verify the various numberings labeled by hand on the various models in collections around the world.

6. Conclusion
In summary, this portion of the research is a computationally based theoretical and empirical exercise and I trust that it will provide interesting points of departure for future work. Jonathan Chertok May 2008 Austin, Texas

chertok@universaljointdesign.com http://www.universaljointdesign.com 3 Ferguson, Eugene S. 1962 Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt was critical in making this connection. 4 Fischer. op.cit.
2