On the skew network corresponding to Bricard's doubly collapsible octahedron

Abstract

A prompt contributor to discussion of Bricard's marvellous revelation of deformable octahedra was Bennett, who related the findings to planar, spherical, and skew assemblages, the last-named consisting of a network formed by his own remarkable four-bar linkage. Since that time, many investigations have been directed to each of Bricard's and Bennett's linkages, but rarely to the notion of a connection between them. The present article draws upon recent discoveries of six-bar linkages synthesized from Bennett isograms to establish a surprising integration of three different families of six-bars and the skew network engendered by the doubly collapsible octahedron.