My latest obsession is manifolds
in general and
non-orientable
manifolds
in particular. Other than the dazzling amount of jargon one has to
work through, they're atually a lot of fun. If you've never made your own Mobius
strip, what are you waiting for?
Klein Bottles
might be harder to accomplish, but real ones do exist.
I stumbled over the fascinating subject of knot theory along the way. What may
be more familiar ground is the "garden variety" of
knots
that one can tie, which makes for aesthetically pleasing (and not to mention
useful) crafts projects. But there is also the mathematical study of
knots
and its surprising results -- e.g. only need three kinds of "moves" are needed
to create any knot (in three dimensions) you wish! I haven't followed up on their
application to Physics yet (other than a few wild ideas), so please feel free to
enlighten me.
p.s. For those who are so inclined/don't have a piece of string handy/are all
thumbs and no fingers/[insert your excuse],
software exists
that allows you to create knots on your favorite computer.
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