[aesop_image img=”https://hilite.org/core/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hemihelix-1.jpg” caption=”SEAS.HARVARD.EDU / SOURCE” align=”left” captionposition=”left” lightbox=”off”]Researchers at Harvard recently discovered a new shape, which has been dubbed the “hemihelix.” It was discovered as a team of researchers worked toward creating a spring based on the properties of cephalopods (a class of animals including octopi and cuttlefish). The team began by affixing a short rubber band to a longer one, with the expectation that it would coil into a scroll or spring-like shape. Instead, a sort of alternating coil was formed, with traits called “perversions” where the coiling (the “chirality”) changed direction. In the hemihelix, these perversions occurred at periodical intervals, creating a structure similar to a coil with directional changes running its entire length.

Through varying the lengths of the rubber bands used, scientists were able to create shapes with deterministic characteristics, meaning they could predict what traits the shapes would have based on the bands they used to create them.

The discovery of the hemihelix and its ability to be readily reproduced implies that in the future, it may be easier to create three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional ones. The fact that the rubber bands went from a flat form to a standard, predictable three-dimensional shape with each repetition of the experiment means that it could be possible in the future to easily and reliably make a three-dimensional structure out of a flat shape.

Just an interesting tidbit I thought I’d share. Unfortunately, that’s all I have this time around. Look forward to more in the coming weeks. For Science!