Finding Physics in Everyday Objects

Watch applied mathematician Mahadevan create wrinkles, folds, and a flutter in this Harvard Magazine video...

The wrinkling in an elephant’s trunk and in billionth-of-a-meter nanotubes proceed from the same physical principles. The oscillations and flutters that agitate a piece of paper when you blow on it operate by mechanisms similar to those that caused an improperly designed bridge to tragically, and famously, collapse. Watch demonstrations by applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, whose curiosity and analytical prowess combine to identify and then explain phenomena such as the vexing problem of folding up a map (to which nature has invented a brilliant solution).

For more on Mahadevan, see "The Physics of the Familiar," in this magazine's March-April issue.

 

Related topics

You might also like

How AI Is Reshaping Supply Chains

Harvard Kennedy School lecturer on using AI to strengthen supply chains

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on 'Space Junk'

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Understanding AI Vulnerabilities

As artificial intelligence capabilities evolve, so too will the tactics used to exploit them. 

Most popular

Paolo Pasco and the art of making crosswords

Paolo Pasco and the art of making crosswords

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

The Trump Administration's Impact on Higher Education

Unprecedented federal actions against research funding, diversity, speech, and more

Explore More From Current Issue

Room filled with furniture made from tightly rolled newspaper sheets.

A Paper House in Massachusetts

The 1920s Rockport cottage reflects resourceful ingenuity.

Johnston Gate

Your Views on Harvard’s Standoff, Antisemitism, and More

Readers comment on the controversial July-August cover, authoritarianism, and scientific research.

Brandon Terry, wearing a blue suit, standing before The Embrace, a large bronze sculpture of intertwined arms in Boston Common.

A New Narrative of Civil Rights

Political philosopher Brandon Terry’s vision of racial progress