Science of Origami

Reported September 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Can a piece of paper save your life? You probably don't know one modern invention was derived from the science of origami, the ancient art of paper folding.

"What first got me as a kid was the idea that you can create all these different shapes from such a simple starting material -- an uncut sheet of paper," origami artist and engineer Robert Lang, Ph.D., told Ivanhoe.

Origami is the traditional technique of Japanese paper folding. Modern science agrees there’s a lot they couldn’t do with out this ancient art form.h

"Science, technology, space, automotive, medicine -- all these different fields have benefited from origami," Dr. Lang said.

Dr. Lang is one of America's greatest origami artists. He can fold just about anything from a single sheet of paper. He’s honored that his art can also be effective for education and invention.

"There has been some testing that shows that after students have done origami, that they have a higher appreciation or understanding of various mathematical geometric concepts," he said.

It's an ancient science that uses mathematics for modern day miracles. The twists and bends in an origami turtle may just make their way into your cell phone's circuit board. And how can a paper scorpion actually save your life? The origami algorithms used to fold bugs are the same ones behind the invention of the air bags in your car.

"An algorithm that origami artists had come up with for the design of insects was the right algorithm to give the creases for flattening an airbag," Dr. Lang said. "So that has now been adopted into airbag simulation code, and presumably automotive engineers are now using those codes to design airbags."

Cal Tech says the applications are endless. From consumer programs to the space program, the options have yet to unfold.

Remember the fortune squares you flipped as a kid? That was a form of origami. So if you told fortunes through torn and tattered paper, you were actually studying science.

The American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Dr. Robert Lang
Alamo, CA
(925) 855-9090
robert@langorigami.com

American Mathematical Society
Providence, RI
(800) 321-4267
http://www.ams.org

Mathematical Association of America
Washington, DC
(800) 741-9415
http://www.maa.org

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