What stops a piece of paper from being folded more than seven times?
Why Paper Can’t Fold Infinite
We often see, for a matter of fact, that we are not ableto fold paper more than seven times.
The reason behind this is quite straightforward.
1. The thickness of paper
The thickness of the paper primarily decides the number of turns possible for a particular paper. Papers that are glossy, shiny, and thin in material are considered to get more turns as, scientifically, the pattern of atoms inside them is more compact as compared to a normal paper. Each paper has a different structure and thickness. This thickness decides whether the paper can be moulded further or not. Thick papers like craft paper, which are considered small in size, too, are not capable of being folded multiple times as in this case, the material of paper does not leave any space for it to get folded further.
2. Size of the paper
When a paper of a huge size is used, the folding becomes easier, resulting in making it possible to be folded multiple times. At the same time, if the paper is small in size, it becomes equally, or more, difficult to make multiple folds on the same paper. The size of the paper makes a small but significant difference in the number of folds possible in a paper. Moreover, the pattern in which the paper is folded matters a lot. A pattern in which each turn gets and has lots of space gives more scope of folds in the paper. Too many short turns can choke the process of folding at quite an early stage.
Prominently these are the reasons that are seen effecting the number of turns/folds that could be possible otherwise for a particular paper.
– Written By Aparajita Karmakar
