[BITList] Paper folding

[HUGH]

Colin,

Referring to your recent posting on Think You Know Everything? - some years back I wrote an article on the paper folding matter for a minor maths magazine.  It's true that any normal sheet of paper can't physically be folded all that many times, certainly not 8.  For normal sized sheets, it's the fold edges that are the problem, if we ignore the physical problems. As the number of folds mounts, the length lost on the edge radius grows.  So, while a sheet of paper can be folded in 2,  strictly speaking it can't be folded in half.  The deviation grows with the number of folds, even if we ignore the physical problem of making the folds.  There is always a sheet of paper big enough to be folded (battered into shape) any specified number of times, subject to the above proviso.

Start with a sheet 1.0m x 1.0m and 0.005" thick.  After 8 folds the theoretical area (if we just cut it with scissors) would be 0.0028 squ m (53x53) and the thickness 32.5mm. This never stops people trying - ever hopeful.

Hugh.
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