{"id":10622,"date":"2023-02-28T17:12:29","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/?post_type=portfolio&p=10622"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:49:46","slug":"hungarian-innovations-the-gomboc","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/news\/hungarian-innovations-the-gomboc\/","title":{"rendered":"Hungarian innovations \u2013 The G\u00f6mb\u00f6c"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is the G\u00f6mb\u00f6c?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The G\u00f6mb\u00f6c is a special geometric shape, which is a result of an interesting mathematical question asked by one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, Vladimir Igorevich Arnold: can convex, homogeneous objects with just two balance points exist? The G\u00f6mb\u00f6c is the first known such shape; like a weeble, it always returns to its originally upright state position on a horizontal surface when you move it, however, unlike the toy, it has no added bottom weight. The G\u00f6mb\u00f6c shape appears to be deeply embedded in the natural world. For example, as pebbles erode, they reduce their number of equilibrium points and thus become more similar to the G\u00f6mb\u00f6c. Some animals with shells, such as certain turtle species also have G\u00f6mb\u00f6c shaped shells which makes them able to self-right.<\/p>\n

The Inventors<\/strong><\/p>\n

The theory of Arnold was proven in 2006 by G\u00e1bor Domokos\u00a0and P\u00e9ter V\u00e1rkonyi, two Hungarian professors at the Department of Mechanics, Materials and Structures of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Budapesti M\u0171szaki \u00e9s Gazdas\u00e1gtudom\u00e1nyi Egyetem – BME). After more year-long research first, they created a mathematical example and then they constructed the physical example of Arnold\u2019s theory, which they named the \u201cG\u00f6mb\u00f6c.\u201d Prof. Domokos and V\u00e1rkonyi are still teaching at BME – beyond giving lectures, at prestigious universities all around the world.<\/p>\n

The impact and usage of G\u00f6mb\u00f6c<\/strong><\/p>\n

G\u00f6mb\u00f6c is a significant scientific innovation in mathematics, geology, and biology as well as in art and design.\u00a0It received large international media attention, repeating the success of the Rubik\u2019s cube, another famous Hungarian invention from 1974. In 2007 the G\u00f6mb\u00f6c made its debut on the cover of\u00a0Mathematical Intelligencer<\/a>, and it was hailed by the\u00a0New York Times<\/a>\u00a0as one of the 70 most interesting inventions of the year.<\/p>\n

This discovery has not only inspired top scientists, engineers, and artists but also helped to shed light on some of nature\u2019s exciting mysteries. The G\u00f6mb\u00f6c facilitated the development of a geometrical theory with applications ranging from biology, geophysics or planetology. It helped NASA to\u00a0identify ancient rivers on Mars<\/a> and also contributed to\u00a0explaining the spaceship-like shape\u00a0of the first interstellar<\/a> asteroid \u2018Oumuamua. The G\u00f6mb\u00f6c shape drove cutting-edge innovation\u00a0in robotics and drug delivery\u00a0and it inspired also the\u00a0work of leading contemporary conceptual artist<\/a>\u00a0Ryan Gander<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a recent study a research team at the\u00a0Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u00a0(MIT) and\u00a0Harvard Medical School\u00a0used their own,\u00a0G\u00f6mb\u00f6c-inspired insulin capsule\u00a0<\/a>to deliver orally dosed mRNS vaccine, developed by\u00a0Katalin Karik\u00f3<\/a>\u00a0and her colleagues.<\/p>\n

Prestigious universities (e.g. Princeton, Cambridge, Heidelberg, Cornell, Oxford, Berkeley, Tokyo, Sorbonne and Harvard) and collections (e.g. Windsor Castle and the Hungarian National Museum) have put uniquely\u00a0numbered<\/a>\u00a0G\u00f6mb\u00f6c models on permanent exhibit.<\/p>\n

If you want to read more about the G\u00f6mb\u00f6c, check out its website HERE<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

gomboc.eu\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

quibit.hu – Domokos G\u00e1bor: Egy\u00fctt \u00e9lek a g\u00f6mb\u00f6ccel, annak \u00f6sszes el\u0151ny\u00e9vel \u00e9s h\u00e1tr\u00e1ny\u00e1val<\/a><\/p>\n

welovebudapest.com – Soon you can get a G\u00f6mb\u00f6c, the innovative Hungarian invention<\/a><\/p>\n

en.wikipedia.org – G\u00f6mb\u00f6c<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hungarians have always been outstanding at finding innovative ways to solve problems, often leading to the invention of objects that now surround us every day. G\u00f6mb\u00f6c, one of the biggest sensations in the world of mathematics in the early 2000s has also been developed by Hungarian researchers. Read the story of this unique mathematical invention in our new series of Hungarian innovations!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[23],"class_list":["post-10622","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-actual"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/10622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10622"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/10622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17191,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/10622\/revisions\/17191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10622"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diasporascholarship.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=10622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}