Aluminum Gomboc, a mathematical innovation, self-righting shape, and gift

Description

MATHEMATICAL INNOVATION - 'Gömböc' (pronounced: 'goemboets') is the first and only known homogenous object with one stable and one unstable equilibrium point, thus two equilibria altogether on a horizontal surface. No matter what you do with it, it always gets back to its only stable point of equilibrium.
PERFECT DESK AND SCIENCE TOY - Swinging Gömböc helps you think over your dilemmas, draw your daily inspiration and to remind yourself: it is just a matter of time to regain your balance.
EXCELLENT GIFT IDEA - looking for a fascinating gift idea to give to your friends, family members, colleagues or partners? Get Gömböc and offer them this unique design gift, a special matter of mathematical curiosity that will never go out of style. Or order this magic self-righting shape and add it to your personal home decoration.
SUPER ELEGANT - ditch those low-level toys and decoration elements and set yourself up with a super elegant mathematical shape that looks great in your home or office. Find inspiration any day with this internationally-acknowledged mathematical innovation!
UNIQUE RESULT OF SPECIAL PRODUCTION - Gömböc products are produced by using CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling technology. Manufacturing one single Gömböc requires several hours of precision milling. Every hundredth of millimeter counts for Gömböc-type of objects, so we work with high accuracy level. The smallest change in the process can cause a harmful result that the product will lose its gömböc-self. That is why Gömböc is one of the most unique inventions in Mathematics.
Why buy the timeless mathematical invention?
Gömböc is a mathematical innovation, exclusive gift and science toy, that can help you think over your dilemmas, draw your daily inspiration and remind yourself: it's just a matter of time to regain your balance. Different versions of Gömböc are available from steel, bronze, aluminium, plexiglass and from a unique black substance. This self-righting shape is a perfect gift for your business partners, colleagues, friends and Math fans.
Why choose Aluminium Gömböc?
Aluminium Gömböc is the beauty of simplicity. As our best-selling product, it is a great gift to anyone wishing to take a relaxing pause in the daily running. If you need some inspiration or entertainment, our silvery, shining Aluminium Gömböc is the right choice for you.
Why is it so expensive?
Although Gömböc has no moving parts, this special geometrical shape has to be manufactured with unprecedented precision: a Gömböc of 10 cm diameter has tolerances far less than 0.1 mm. This precision presents a formidable challenge even to state-of-art precision technologies such as CNC. In addition, we use special materials under the production method (such as Aluminium or Plexiglas), which can guarantee the value of the product.
The existence of the Gömböc was conjectured in 1995 by one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, Vladimir Igorevich Arnold. The inventors of the Gömböc are Gábor Domokos and Péter Várkonyi from the Departnent of Mechanics, Materials and Structures of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
The Gömböc can be considered as a "mathematical stem-cell": All equilibrium classes of objects can be constructed by using the Gömböc as a starting point, but not the other way around: the existence of the Gömböc cannot be deduced from other shapes. Due to its similarity to the sphere, the Gömböc is one of the most sensitive geometric forms. Nevertheless, the organic environment managed to produce a Gömböc-like shape in the form of the shell of the Indian Star Tortoise. Moreover, in the un-organic environment (for example, among abrading pebbles) the Gömböc is the ultimate, though unattainable goal of shape evolution. This theory enabled a scientific team from Budapest, Philadelphia and NASA to decode the history of pebble shapes on Mars, gaining new, essential insight into the ancient fluvial environment on the Red Planet. The focus of the Hungarian Pavilion of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo was the Gömböc, as the symbol of harmony and creativity.
Metal Gömböc pieces are produced at much higher accuracy with computer controlled machining (CNC). Due to their extreme precision their motion (on a sufficiently smooth, clean surface) lasts much longer.
Individual, numbered pieces are manufactured at special request. Gömböc 001 was presented to Professor V.I. Arnold on his 70th birthday by the inventors. Other numbered pieces are on exhibit at world-famous institutions:
- 1000 was presented by the Hungarian Research Fund to the European Research Council
- 1209 is at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science at the University of Cambridge
- 1409 is at the Mathematical Institue of the University of Leipzig
- 1546 is at Trinity College, Cambridge
- 1737 is at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Göttingen
- 1746 is at the Mathematical Department of Princeton University
- 1785 is at the Department of Mathematics, University of Georgia
- 1802 is at the Hungarian National Museum
- 1821 is at the British Crown Estate
- 1823 is at the Bolyai Memorial Museum at Tirgu Mures (Marosvásárhely)
- 1825 is at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
- 1855 is at Pennsylvania State University
- 1896 is at the Hungarian Patent Office
- 1910  is at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
- 1924 is at the Hungarian National Bank
- 1928 is at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris
- 1988 is at University of Waterloo, Canada
- 2013 is at the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University