The Möbius strip

 

Pacman on a Möbius ring Pacman has been going around and around for so long 
that he has worn the wooden object! 

This object has the same properties as the Möbius strip. 
It's got only one side. 
Just try to follow Pacman's track, 
you'll find that he will eventually come back 
to exactly the same spot. 
But he will come very near to this spot 
three times before reaching it at last. 
But Pacman won't stop there, of course. 
He will keep going around and around...


Making a Möbius strip is very easy!

All you need is a sheet of paper, scissors and glue.
  1. Cut a strip along the length of the sheet of paper, say 3 cm wide.
  2. Make a ring by joining the ends of the strip, but don't glue anything yet!
  3. Now here's the trick: twist one of the ends, half a turn.
  4. Now you can glue the two ends.
There you are, you have a Möbius strip in your little hands.
Möbius strip

This strip has interesting properties!

One more thing about it: use your scissors to cut the strip along the line you've drawn in the middle. Do you get two rings? Nope, you get a longer and narrower ring...

 


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Last updated November 4, 1998.
Comments and suggestions welcome!
 
Denis NICOLAS, denis.nicolas@iname.com