Once an intriguing topological novelty known only to mathematicians, the Möbius strip has become a source of fascination and inspiration to the layperson and artist alike.1 Principal among its features are the two strange properties that the Möbius strip is a surface with only one side and one edge. A Möbius strip is readily formed by taking a long rectangular strip of paper and giving one of its ends a half twist before joining it to its other end (see Fig. 1). Given its simplicity, I hoped to profit from its appealing yet counterintuitive nature by designing a simple demonstration experiment that would reveal the intrinsic physical difference between one- and two-sided surfaces.
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© 2007 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2007
American Association of Physics Teachers
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