Column

  1. Math

    Geometreks

    Strolling down a city street or along a country road can provide a geometrical feast for the eye—when the viewing is done from a mathematical perspective. National Gallery of Art, East Building. I. Peterson To fit the National Gallery’s East Building on a trapezoid-shaped site, architect I.M. Pei based his design on a division of […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  2. Math

    Strolling Down Möbius Lane

    The Möbius band is a fascinating object. You can make a simple model of it by joining the ends of a long, narrow strip of paper after giving one end a 180-degree twist. The result is a one-sided, one-edged surface in the form a single closed continuous curve with a twist.