Meet The Shape That Cannot Pass Through Itself

Can a shape pass through itself? That is to say, if one had two identical solids, would it be possible to orient one such that a hole could be cut through it, allowing the other to pass through without breaking the first into separate pieces? It turns out that the answer is yes, at least for certain shapes. Recently, two friends, [Sergey Yurkevich] and [Jakob Steininger], found the first shape proven not to have this property.

A 3D-printed representation of a cube passing through itself [image: Wikipedia]
Back in the late 1600s, Prince Rupert of the Rhine proved it was possible to accomplish this feat with two identical cubes. One can tilt a cube just so, and the other cube can fit through a tunnel bored through it. A representation is shown here.

Later, researchers showed this was also true of more complex shapes. This ability to pass unbroken through a copy of oneself became known as Rupert’s Property. Sometimes it’s an amazingly tight fit, but it seems to always work.

Continue reading “Meet The Shape That Cannot Pass Through Itself”