What Is a Möbius Strip?

Möbius Strip is a one-sided surface along and with one edge, with no boundaries. It is also called a twisted cylinder. These strips look similar to an infinite loop and play a significant role in art, magic, mathematics, and literature.

Möbius Strip was named after the astronomer and mathematician ‘August Ferdinand Möbius.’ He became widely famous as soon as he came with this idea in September 1858. Although another renowned mathematician of that era named Johann Benedict Listing also came up with the same concept three months prior, in July 1858, the strip was still named after Möbius, not Listening.

Möbius Strip can be created by taking a strip of paper and giving it an odd number of half twists, taping it further from the ends to form a loop back together. To check if you have made it right, before making Möbius Strip, you can draw a line through a pencil along the strip’s centre. If you can draw the line along both sides of the loop without lifting the pencil, it implies Möbius Strip is aptly made.

1. It has been demonstrated by drawing a line in the center of the Möbius Strip that it is one-sided. Once you draw the line, you can follow the entire line with your finger without even lifting it from the surface. When you travel the length (L) of the strip, you will perceive your finger is on the other side of the paper’s piece from the starting position.
Persisting to race the centerline, and while you have travelled the full length (2L), your finger will return to the starting position. This property illustrates that it is possible to draw a path between any 2 points in the Möbius Strip without lifting your pencil from the surface or even while you are crossing the edge.

2. It is also manifested that a Möbius Strip consists of one boundary by tracing the edge of the Möbius Strip with your finger or while you are drawing the line in the center of it. When you have followed the line and travelled the length (L) with your finger, you will notice your finger has reached the boundary edge, which will be directly opposite from the starting point.
Persisting to trace the centerline, you will perceive your finger has returned to the starting position after travelling the full length (2L). Möbius Strip is known for its Euler characteristic χ=0.

Möbius Strip connects us with the idea of infinity. It represents the lemniscate symbol for infinity. The concept of infinity can help you imagine how ants can travel the entire length of the Möbius Strip indefinitely.