The Paper Strip that loses a Side

Let us explore something that will twist your mind. It is sure to amaze you and leave you surprised.

For this, you need a strip of white paper like this. You can get several such strips when you cut an A4 sheet of paper along its length.

Hold one such strip with one hand holding each end like this.

If you were to form a loop from this strip you would apply some glue to this end and stick it like this to the other end of the strip.

But wait….here’s there is a small twist…Twist your right-hand end of the strip by 180 degrees.

Put some glue and stick it to the other end. You will end up with a shape like this.

So what’s amazing about this? Hold your breath.

Take a pen and start tracing a line.

What happened? You went right through the front and back of the paper and ended up at the starting point, didn’t you? Mind-boggling, right?

Yes, this shape is one of the most curious shapes in Mathematics. It is called a Mobius strip.

A motor belt is often twisted into a Mobius strip so that the entire surface area gets the same amount of wear and tear.

Let me show you one more fun aspect of a Mobius strip the next time.

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