【Interesting Facts about Haichuan Technology】Some things don’t have two sides like paper does
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Richard Phillips Feynman, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, was at the time pursuing the girl he liked, Arlene Greenbaum. The girl called Feynman over because she was struggling with her homework for the philosophy class on Descartes’ idea that \"I think, therefore I am.\" Feynman engaged in a lively discussion with her. It wasn’t until she said, “Our teacher says that everything, just like paper, has two sides.” ”At that moment, Feynman had a flash of inspiration and spotted the flaw in this statement; he took a piece of paper and created a Möbius strip. On the second day of class, the girl deliberately waited until the teacher held up a piece of paper and said that everything has two sides, just like paper. Then she immediately raised up a Möbius strip and said, “Teacher, what you said also has two sides!” I have a piece of paper with only one side! ”Feynman wrote about this in his autobiography, \"What Do You Care What Other People Think?\", and he wrote proudly, \"The whole class was amazed.\" Arlin was naturally very proud. I feel that since then, she has paid more attention to me.
In 1858, German mathematicians Mobius (1790–1868) and Johann Listing discovered that a loop formed by twisting a strip of paper 180° and then sticking its ends together possesses magical properties. A small insect can crawl across the entire surface without having to cross its edges. This type of paper strip is called a “Möbius strip”. (In other words, it has only one surface.) — Baidu Baike. As Baidu Baike states, what makes the Möbius strip special is its \"single-sided nature\"; many problems that cannot be solved on a flat surface can be resolved on a Möbius strip.
There are two different mirror images of the Möbius strip, which are symmetric to each other. If the paper strip is rotated clockwise before being glued, a dextrorotatory Möbius strip will be formed, and the same applies in reverse.
The Möbius strip itself has many wonderful properties. If a Möbius strip is cut in half, two narrow strips are not obtained; instead, a loop is formed in which the ends of the strip are twisted twice before being joined together (this is not a Möbius strip). If this loop, created by twisting the strip’s ends twice and then joining them, is cut in half, two loops result. If you divide the width of the band into three parts and cut along those divisions, you will obtain two loops: one is a narrower Möbius strip, and the other is a loop that has been rotated twice before being joined together. Another interesting feature arises from rotating the paper tape multiple times before sticking its ends together. For example, a ribbon that has been rotated three and a half turns will form a triple knot after being cut. After cutting the ribbon, rotate it, and then reattach it to create several Paradromic ones.
To help us understand the Möbius strip better, consider this simple example: if the loop in the image is a normal ring, then an object moving on the red side will not be able to move to the yellow side (unless it passes through the edge area). However, if the paper strip is rotated 180° clockwise and then glued together, a dextral Möbius strip is formed, allowing objects moving on the red side to move smoothly to the yellow side. So what if the paper tape is rotated clockwise again and then glued? Imagine that if two rotations (i.e., 360° rotations) are performed and then pasting is done, the ring band will once again become separated into a yellow band and a red band. Similarly, by performing three rotations (i.e., 540° rotations) and then pasting, an infinite loop is created. The Möbius strip is often considered to be the inspiration for the symbol of infinity “∞”, because if a person were to stand on the surface of a giant Möbius strip and keep walking along the paths they can see, they would never stop. But this is an unfounded rumor, because the invention of “∞” predates the Möbius strip.
The main structure of the Phoenix International Media Center consists of a broadcasting building on the north side, an office building on the south side, underground commercial spaces, parking areas, and machine rooms. The entire building features a Möbius strip design, making it a landmark building with distinct media and cultural characteristics. The design concept of the Möbius loop presents to the world a magnificent work of architectural art, yet it poses one unknown challenge after another for the construction teams.