A Flattened Globe (IMAGE)
Caption
This schematic shows what happens when a curved elastic shell, here depicted as a globe, is forced by confinement to change from spherical to flat. If it wrinkles enough, the shell can flatten almost without stretching. The bottom image shows that the distance distortion introduced when flattening a globe -- as compared to a pre-squished map - can be arbitrarily smaller as the shell becomes thinner and more bendable. This solution, developed by UMass Amherst researchers, reconciles core and seemingly contradictory principles of geometry and mechanics.
Credit
UMass Amherst/G. Grason
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