The Scientific/Mathematical Study Of Knots And The Materials Used In Knots.

The science of knots — some study the traits of real knots — some only wish to study imaginary knots, some are knots, some are not. This is steep reading, high density material — though some is truly Art. A lot of it is arcane — but it is about knots, use what is useful, and leave the rest for later.

I have no relationship with the sites I review, other than a few which I have been a customer of. I will not receive any direct rewards, fiscal or otherwise, for my reviews or any visits you may make.

The study of mathematical knots.

Knot Plot Site, The: For those of you interested in the mathematical side of knots, or the generation of fantastic pictures of knots real or unreal, this is the place to go. The pictures on this site range from the excellent graphic representation of knots, to stunningly beautiful pictures that also happen to be pictures of knots. Most of the pictures on the site, and there are a ton of them, were done using the KnotPlot software they developed. The software is available for download from a partner site. You can get the full rig with bells and whistles for a fee. Before you do that, I recommend downloading the free version to see if it and you get along. Like all powerful tools, this takes some work to master. The free version doesn’t time out, but does have some of the more esoteric functions disabled until you buy a license. I think you should go here one day just to look at the pretty pictures. Who knows, it might fire up your inner mathematician. Reviewed 2010.01.20.

Knot Table: This is technically over my head, but I did say I would try to find anything related to knots. The scientists who view sites like this one think abut knots differently than someone who ties knots with real cord. Their definition of knots doesn’t include the things we tie. This site has a Java applet that allows you to manipulate 3-D models of all the mathematical knots up through, and including 9 crossings. If you non-math type folks are looking for a time-sink which is related to knots and pretty pictures, you may enjoy a trip through this site. As a rule I would say it would be of more use to those who are of the mathematician breed. Reviewed 2010.01.30.

The study of the math of knots .. how strong, how many shocks it can withstand. Both of these first two categories can be steep.

The science of the materials, and techniques of making cordage. Can they be improved — if so how.

I’m sure there is more out there, I’m also sure this will never be my strong point so I’ll just plod along and hope for guidance from you, my reader.