Rader's NUMBERNUT.COM Imaging maths - Inside the Klein bottle September 2003 My first practical experience with a Klein bottle was a failure. When I was still at school I came across a picture of a Klein bottle in a weekly journal. I shared my fascination with a friend who was a glassmaker specializing in physics equipment for schools. A few days later I was a proud owner of a physical Klein bottle, made of glass. What to do with such a bottle? To my delight, this primitive but interesting thermometer did indeed show signs of life during the day. The Klein bottle was discovered in 1882 by Felix Klein [1] and since then has joined the gallery of popular mathematical shapes known to the general public outside the "ivory tower". From the Möbius band to the projective plane The Möbius band is the simplest one-sided surface, and is easy to make out of a strip of paper. The band was discovered in 1858 by the German astronomer and mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius. Despite its simplicity the Möbius band was a genuine mathematical discovery. Felix Klein
Mathematical Atlas: A gateway to Mathematics Welcome! This is a collection of short articles designed to provide an introduction to the areas of modern mathematics and pointers to further information, as well as answers to some common (or not!) questions. The material is arranged in a hierarchy of disciplines, each with its own index page ("blue pages"). To reach the best page for your interests, use whichever of these navigation tools ("purple pages") you prefer: For resources useful in all areas of mathematics try 00: General Mathematics. There is a backlog of articles awaiting editing before they are referenced in the blue pages, but you are welcome to snoop around VIRUS WARNING: The Mathematical Atlas receives but does not send mail using the math-atlas.org domain name. Please bookmark any pages at this site with the URL This URL forces frames; for a frame-free version use