Download or read book Elements of the geometry and topology of minimal surfaces in three-dimensional space written by A. T. Fomenko and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2005 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book grew out of lectures presented to students of mathematics, physics, and mechanics by A. T. Fomenko at Moscow University, under the auspices of the Moscow Mathematical Society. The book describes modern and visual aspects of the theory of minimal, two-dimensional surfaces in three-dimensional space. The main topics covered are: topological properties of minimal surfaces, stable and unstable minimal films, classical examples, the Morse-Smale index of minimal two-surfaces in Euclidean space, and minimal films in Lobachevskian space. Requiring only a standard first-year calculus and elementary notions of geometry, this book brings the reader rapidly into this fascinating branch of modern geometry.