Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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moebius strip slinky

what it says on the, um, side
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… constructed in such a way that once started on its journey, it never ends…

until it bumps into the furniture of course.

po, Aug 17 2007

illustration http://imgur.com/a/1NZT8
[xaviergisz, Aug 17 2007, last modified Dec 13 2011]

attempting to get your head around the concept. http://www.math.tec.../2/escher-cover.gif
Escher [po, Aug 17 2007]

Rectangular slinky http://www.webdesig...articles/4151/8.jpg
[ldischler, Aug 17 2007]

Here's a way to make it work :-) http://www.gtoal.co...y/escher-slinky.jpg
The journey is the reward :-) [gtoal, Aug 20 2007]

This would be ideal for Slinky Polo Slinky_20Polo
[normzone, Aug 20 2007]

ACTUAL REAL Mobius Slinky! (called toroflux or torofluxus) http://www.grand-il...og/Toro_Fluxus.html
toroflux. this is it. =) it's also sold here: http://www.flowtoys.com/product.php?productid=114 [zzyyfff, Aug 24 2010]

[link]






       Wheel
the dog's breakfast, Aug 17 2007
  

       "Use other side"
Ling, Aug 17 2007
  

       If the coil is a single-start helix, what you are making is a toroidal slinky rather than a Moebius strip. The key property of a Moebius strip is that you start with a two- sided surface and twist it so that the two surfaces become one.
MaxwellBuchanan, Aug 17 2007
  

       oh no, no doughnuts please...   

       my worry is that it will veer off to the left or right and just go in circles rather than a straight line.   

       nice pics, xavier but that's not right - the slinky looks like an ordinary slinky but at the end of its slink, it kinda turns backs on itself and moves on.
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       You need one of those never-ending Escher staircases, too.
phundug, Aug 17 2007
  

       wow, I'd love a 3-dimensional Escher staircase picture with a moebius slinky moving up and down - it would make a great halfbakery clock.
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       //nice pics, xavier but that's not right - the slinky looks like an ordinary slinky but at the end of its slink, it kinda turns backs on itself and moves on.//
But a half turn of a slinky produces no effect at all.
ldischler, Aug 17 2007
  

       [po]What time is it?
Dub, Aug 17 2007
  

       (-) Sorry, this is trying too hard.
jutta, Aug 17 2007
  

       Is a mobius slinky even possible? [xavier]'s illustrations (accomplished though they are) seem to show a slinky linked to it's own end and twisted in the middle. To make a mobius band you need a strip with two (or more sides) - a slinky approximates to a cylinder and has no sides.
wagster, Aug 17 2007
  

       I visualise this as comprising a flat strip as opposed to a thin round wire with a twist in it somewhere but I'm not sure where to place the twist.
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       In which case it would be möbioid - how it would walk I know not.
wagster, Aug 17 2007
  

       like a crab, I suspect
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       //I visualise this as comprising a flat strip as opposed to a thin round wire with a twist in it somewhere but I'm not sure where to place the twist.//
How about a rectangular spring that, like a paper mobius, is continuous with a single half-twist.
ldischler, Aug 17 2007
  

       sorry, explain?
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       The cross-section of the spring is rectangular--like a strip of paper, but thicker.
ldischler, Aug 17 2007
  

       so?   

       is that like I said before?
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       Perhaps. But I thought you were talking about the cross-section of the wire, not the cross-section of the spring.
ldischler, Aug 17 2007
  

       hmmmm, a more square cross-section...   

       do we need goldfish?   

       yes, I was talking about the wire not the cross-section.
po, Aug 17 2007
  

       Needs more jam and bees...
wagster, Aug 17 2007
  

       It's just occured to me that a standard slinky is slightly möbioid anyway in that it has only one side. Well, I suppose it has an inside. Perhaps we need to construct a klein bottle slinky given the dimensions we are dealing with. Or a hyperkleinbottle slinky...
wagster, Aug 17 2007
  

       I've had another crack at illustrating the moebius slinky; see what you think. It's hard to show (with the software I'm using), but I'm pretty sure it has moebius quality (i.e. start drawing a continuous line on one side and end up on the other side).   

       I've used a helix with a half-twist as the basis of the design (three of these bent together to form a loop).   

       It might not make a particularly good toy, but I think it would make a pretty good sculpture.   

       EDIT: oops, I was using a helix with a full twist. I've added three more pictures, this time based on a half-twist helix.
xaviergisz, Aug 18 2007
  

       I have to congratulate you on your drawings, I wish I could do that.
po, Aug 18 2007
  

       Me too, what's it done in, 3DMax?   

       Some interesting topologies going on there - both the rectangular slinky and the normal slinky with a twist in the... wire? I don't have a word for it... exhibit properties of both möbius bands and slinkies, but as you say they work better as shapes than as toys.
wagster, Aug 18 2007
  

       Could there be a Dance of the Moebius Striptease Veil?
xenzag, Aug 18 2007
  

       thanks po and wagster.   

       I use Rhino3d which, in my opinion, is the most user-friendly and easy-to-learn CAD software available. I was motivated to teach myself CAD after I found it was the only way I could communicate my ideas to others.
xaviergisz, Aug 18 2007
  

       What bounces down stairs, on the bumps of its flairs
and makes a mobinkity sound?
Kaching kaching, it's all yang and no ying
You know that you want a Mobinky.
Mobinky, Mobinky,
A one sided perplexing ploy.
Mobinky Mobinky,
Two dimensional construct of joy.
  

       Rectangular section requires 1/4 twist. Still maintain it is a wheel. Nothing else works.
the dog's breakfast, Aug 19 2007
  

       [2 fries] awesome, just awesome   

       [+] to the idea   

       Would it be possible to force the metal into the shape by using bi-metallic strips of metal, and then heating and cooling the toy respectively?
evilpenguin, Aug 19 2007
  

       gtoal, silly!
po, Aug 20 2007
  

       who the feck is zzyyfff? thanks for the link anyway.
po, Aug 24 2010
  
      
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