Nautilus

The Most Symmetrical Objects in the World

If you’ve ever tried to give yourself a haircut, you know just how hard it is to make something precisely symmetrical. We value symmetry so highly in part because it’s really hard to achieve. 

Here are five of the most symmetrical objects humans have ever crafted, and why they were so hard to make.

Strikingly symmetrical pieces of ear jewelry, alleged to be centuries old, have been seized on by conspiracy theorists.

Gravity Probe B quartz gyroscope rotors

In 2004, Gravity Probe B (GP-B) was launched into space on a Delta II rocket with the mission of testing the theory of general relativity. The Earth-orbiting satellite included a set of gyroscopes that could two of the phenomena predicted by general relativity:

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