Video Touching Soap Films

Further Reading on Minimal Surfaces

The following references are popular scientific articles and books on minimal surfaces. They are readable at an advanced school level but also interesting for advanced students.

The Springer cassette is accompanied by a booklet discussing all topics of the video on 24 pages in detail. Here is the online booklet.

H. Karcher, K. Polthier Die Geometrie von Minimalflächen Spektrum der Wissenschaft 10 (1990)
Reprinted in: G. Faltings (Ed.) Moderne Mathematik Spektrum Verlag 1996
U. Pinkall, K. Polthier Flächennetze, diskrete Seifenblasen und ein mathematischer Spielfilm
in: G. Faltings (Ed.) Moderne Mathematik Spektrum Verlag 1996
S. Hildebrandt, A. Tromba The Parsimoneous Universe Springer Verlag Heidelberg
K. Wilhem Architekten heute - Frei Otto Quadriga-Verlag Severin 1985
S. Hyde, S. Andersson, K. Larsson, Z. Blum, T. Landh and B.W. Ninham, "The Language of Shape", Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1997
D. Hoffman Computer-Aided Discovery of New Embedded Minimal Surfaces Mathematical Intelligencer 9 (1987)

A comprehensive knowledge of the mathematical theory of minimal surfaces can be found in the volumes:

U. Dierkes, S. Hildebrandt, A. Küster, O. Wohlrab Minimal Surfaces Vol. I and II, Grundlehren der Mathematik, Springer Verlag 1992
J.C.C. Nitsche Lectures on Minimal Surfaces Vol I, Cambridge University Press 1989

A short introduction to minimal surfaces focussing on complex analytic aspects of minimal surfaces is given in:

R. Osserman A Survey of Minimal Surfaces Dover 1986

A one semester course from elementary differential geometry to basic principles of minimal surfaces:

J. Jost Differentialgeometrie und Minimalflächen Springer-Lehrbuch 1994