The action that's been reserved for thin, flexible materials is about to get a boost. Researchers studying the ancient art of origami have figured out some new ways to make rigid, thick structures ...

When we say that Erik Demaine has spent the best part of the past two decades folding paper into funny shapes, it’s a bit more impressive than it sounds. In fact, as an 18-year-old Ph.D. student (yes, ...

Before becoming a physicist, before being the editor in chief of the Journal of Quantum Electronics, before helping NASA design its largest space telescope, Robert Lang learned to fold paper. Already ...

Researchers used their new technique to fold a glass bar (a), create an optical resonator (b) to achieve helical bending (c) and to create a table with a parabolic reflector (middle, lower row).

Take a piece of paper. Fold it in half, and you’ve turned a floppy sheet into a three-dimensional structure that can stand up, even if a bit wobbly, on its own. A few more deliberate folds, and you ...

Plastic with a thousand faces: A single piece of Nafion foil makes it possible to produce a broad palette of complex 3-D structures. Researchers now describe how they use simple chemical 'programming' ...