Researchers Discover World of Mathematics in Crumpled Paper
Using an algorithm, measures into the sum total of all crumple creases. If crumpled, two sheets, as expected, accumulate unique damage. But crease lengths of the two sheets stayed remarkably similar. Length was a deterministic variable, a "state variable", predicting crease network evolution. Detailed history of crumpling dynamics is thus written into intricate crease patterns. Possibly helps advance physical understanding for paper-based designs of increasingly complex products.
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