Costa surface

thingiverse

The Costa surface, also known as the Hoffman-Meeks surface, is an exceptional minimal surface. Its unique characteristic lies in having the smallest possible surface area, considering its constraints and topology. Minimal surfaces are often created by soap films, which form intricate patterns under tension. The Costa surface is particularly noteworthy because mathematicians believed they had exhaustively cataloged all possible minimal surfaces until it was discovered in the 1980s. Unraveling the geometric intricacies of these surfaces proved to be a daunting task, but computer-aided visualization played a pivotal role in deciphering their complexities. The fact that we can now create and hold one of these surfaces in our hands is truly awe-inspiring!