Building a Möbius Bracelet Using Safety Pins: A Problem of Modular Arithmetic and Staggered Positions
| dc.contributor.author | Knoll, Eva | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2013-02-07T17:22:43Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2013-02-07T17:22:43Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2008 | |
| dc.date.issued | ||
| dc.description.abstract | This article reports on the resolution of a mathematical problem that emerged when two ideas were brought together. The first idea consists of a method for constructing a decorated bracelet made with safety pins that are strung together at both ends, creating a band. The other is suggested by the word band: why not introduce a twist and make the bracelet a Möbius band? As Isaksen and Petrofsky demonstrated in their paper [1] discussing the knitting of a Möbius band, the endless nature of the band’s single face and edge introduces an additional design constraint, particularly if the connection is to appear seamless. To make the creation appear seamless, the decoration applied to the design must itself be regular, as this helps the eye travel along the endless length. The paper discusses the mathematical and practical constraints of this result for a design that uses a repeating pattern throughout the band, first in the standard design, then in the Möbius bracelet. This resolution involves some simple modular arithmetic and an unusual way to lay out the pins in preparation for their being strung together. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Knoll, E., Building a Möbius Bracelet Using Safety Pins: A Problem of Modular Arithmetic and Staggered Positions. In Sarhangi, R. and Séquin, C. (Eds.) Bridges Leeuwarden: Mathematical Connections between Art Music and Science, pp. 79-86, 2008 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10587/1201 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Möbius band | en_US |
| dc.subject | Knitting | en_US |
| dc.subject | Geometry | en_US |
| dc.subject | Mathematics | en_US |
| dc.title | Building a Möbius Bracelet Using Safety Pins: A Problem of Modular Arithmetic and Staggered Positions | en_US |
| dc.type | Conference paper | en_US |