Ask A Scientist© General Science Archive

   
name         Deb
status       other
age          40s

Question -   How many times can you fold a piece of paper, no 
matter what size or what thickness, in half?

My husband and I have been arguing about this for years.  I 
read/heard that the maximum is eight.  Our home tests seem to bear this 
out, although my husband believes he did it nine times.  However, he used 
and iron and his final result looked like a book with a carrot in it.

Is this one of those fun science novelties, or have I dreamt this 
whole thing up?  Also, as my husband always adds, "What about gold 
foil?"  I refuse to enter into that discussion, but raise the question 
anyway.
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Hello,
If I understand the question correctly, I would say many times, not limited 
to 8 or 9 folds. The thinner and the large the paper, the more folds.

If you take a piece of fragile paper (one that upon folding cracks and 
breaks), as an example, you can argue that folding it is the same thing as 
cutting or breaking it into smaller sizes.  As such, your only limitation 
is how small a piece of paper you can handle. AK

Dr. Ali Khounsary
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