A state variable for crumpled thin sheets

nature.com

85 points·bookofjoe··11 comments

Interesting stuff; also very readable paper.

I wonder how this sort of result might get applied in geology.

I was thinking the same for biomechanics (heart valves, etc). Wonder if the underlying idea could be expanded to work with other creasing topologies.

first, I'd like to see it replicated with different materials, and get a better definition of the assumptions required for it to apply

Inb4 more realistic damage in racing games.

Yeah, my first thought was games as well. If you could make this work in real time, you could do all sorts of nonsense.

Dimensional analysis and soft matter physics always make for interesting and very readable papers.

What I like the most in this field, is the connection between mundane observations (crumbling paper, tearing scotch tape, pouring shampoo vs honey, etc, etc) and deep insights combining physical phenomenon.

It always makes me smile to see real world phenomenon explained with SIMPLE math but subtle physics

This is fantastic; thanks for submitting it!

> we may consider the evolution of functional materials, such as proteins, where several recent works suggest that through continuous structural alterations, resulting from cyclic loading, genetic complexity is reduced via evolutionary selection to perform a specific mechanical task.

The abstract is marvelously readable. Bravo.

Not just the abstract; this entire paper is one of the most clearly-written and comprehensible scientific works I've ever laid eyes on. Figure 4b deserves an award.

This gives me analog computing feels

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