I have been interested in topology for quite a while, but today was the first time I went beyond simple Möbius strips and did some really cool mathematical experiments! I made quite a lot of contraptions using only a pair of scissors, glue, and strips of paper. Presenting to you, the Möbius Showcase! - 1. Simple Möbius Strip Specifically, with 1 half-twist 2. Cutting a Möbius Strip in Half Surprisingly, this gives a new Möbius strip which is twice as long and has four half-twists/two twists. The photograph is a bit unclear. 3. Cutting a two-twist Möbius strip in half Another unexpected result: we now have two strips going through each other. \ 4. Cutting a three-twist Möbius strip We get a single loop with - get this - a knot! 5. Cutting a normal loop in half Pretty much what you'd expect 6. Cutting two normal loops which are at right angles in half Strangely, what we get is: a flat square (which makes...
It's official: Randall Munroe has joined my list of favourite authors. I don't know how coveted this prize is, but it certainly is quite selective, given the hundreds if not thousands of books I have read. I read his books 'What If?' and 'Thing Explainer', both of them in single days since I couldn't tear away. On to the details. Munroe's best qualities are his stickmen, his lack of forced humour and his teaching style. It is striking how he can dissect such simple questions into such deep topics of science. He addresses quite a wide variety of problems, ranging from physics to psychology to biology, and has a real penchant for communicating information visually in a clear manner. I'll read his latest book 'How To' in a couple of days when the library gets it back. UPDATE: I read his book, and it was awesome! Humorous, like all his creations, especially xkcd .