The Collaborative International Dictionary
geodesic dome \ge`o*des"ic dome\, n. A domelike structure invented by R. Buckminster Fuller, in which straight structural parts are connected to form interlocking polygons, affording great strength and rigidity combined with light weight. The typical form has the outlines of the top half of an icosahedron, with the triangular spaces filled with structural members forming triangles, hexagons, and squares.
Wiktionary
n. A domed structure of lightweight straight elements forming interlocking polygons.
WordNet
n. a lightweight dome constructed of interlocking polygons; invented by R. Buckminster Fuller
Wikipedia
A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a network of geodesics ( great circles) on the surface of a sphere or a hemisphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements, which have local, triangular rigidity, and so distribute the structural stress throughout the geodesic sphere.
The design of a geodesic dome begins with an icosahedron (20-side form) inscribed within a hypothetical sphere. Each triangular face of the icosahedron is subdivided into n similar triangular tiles, n being the chosen degree of subdivision. The small triangles' vertices are then projected onto the sphere, carrying the arrangement of edges along with them.
When fitted exactly, the sub-triangle edge-lengths assume different values, which thus requires links of many sizes to form the structure (spherical or hemispherical). To minimize the number of different values for the edge-lengths, the design is simplified, and the resultant geodesic dome is a compromise of triangles with the vertices lying approximately on the sphere, so that the triangle-edges form approximate geodesic paths over the surface of the geodesic dome.
Usage examples of "geodesic dome".
I saw a geodesic dome, a small one, but large enough to house a communications antenna.
They talked to each other and now one of them pointed toward the geodesic dome.
Seen from outside, the Taj reminded him of nothing so much as an enormous geodesic dome.
By comparison, her arms and legs were wispy nebulas and the back of her head nearly invisible, with a grand total of maybe a hundred 'sites placed around her scalp like the vertices of a geodesic dome.
As if we were inside something like a geodesic dome, but bigger than a star.
A geodesic dome would be a good compromise-easy to construct, and indicating our equality.
A geodesic dome would be a good compromiseeasy to construct, and indicating our equality.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, until at last the geodesic dome came into view.