Plateau's laws
Leyes de Plateau
- Date
- 1873 · confidence low
- Place
- Ghent, Belgium
- Credited to
- Joseph Plateau
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Laws describing the geometric structure of soap films and foams (the angles and configurations of minimal surfaces), formulated by Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau from his experimental observations, published in his 1873 work.
What it led to
- Foundation for the geometry of minimal surfaces and foams
- Applications in architecture and lightweight structure design (e.g. tensile roofs)
- Basis for later mathematical models of area minimization