The Optimal Paper Moebius Band
October 8, 2023
No Comments
Author: Sergei Tabachnikov. Everyone knows how to make a Moebius band out of a paper rectangle: give it a $180^{\circ}$ twist and attach the ends to each other. It is easy to do if the rectangle is long and narrow, but it is impossible if the ratio of the length to width is sufficiently small (say, equal to 1). Thus there exists a number $\lambda$ such that if this ratio is greater than $\lambda$, a paper Moebius band can be made, and if it is smaller than $\lambda$, then a paper Moebius band does not exist.
