Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 18 March 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5716, p. 1740
DOI: 10.1126/science.1105169
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Brevia

Self-Organized Origami

L. Mahadevan1* and S. Rica2

In origami, form follows the sequential spatial organization of folds. This requires continuous intervention and raises a natural question: Can origami arise through self-organization? We answer this affirmatively by examining the possible physical origin for the Miura-ori leaf-folding patterns that arise naturally in insect wings, leaves, and other laminae-like organelles. In particular, we point out examples where biaxial compression of an elastically supported thin film, such as that due to differential growth, shrinkage, desiccation, or thermal expansion, spontaneously generates these patterns, and we provide a simple theoretical explanation for their occurrence.

1 Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
2 Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lm{at}deas.harvard.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Stress-driven buckling patterns in spheroidal core/shell structures.
J. Yin, Z. Cao, C. Li, I. Sheinman, and X. Chen (2008)
PNAS 105, 19132-19135
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)