Higher order flexibility of octahedra (Q5932671)

The investigation of the continuous flexibility of octahedra was initiated by R. Bricard more than hundred years ago. The infinitesimal first-order flexible octahedra have been well known for a long time. This paper is devoted to the study of the cases between, namely octahedra which are flexible of finite order but which are not continuously flexible. After giving a characterization of flexibility of order \(n\) the author gives a very nice description of second and third order flexibility by using configuration conditions expressed by algebraic curves and surfaces.