Folded Reflections

I’ve decided to present a rough solution to how two pop-up origamis can be arranged in space, so that the arrangement results in exactly the reflections that allow for the folding pattern to exist. But after having written that sentence, I think you’ll be no wiser with words, so I’ll just dive deep into the 3D model.

Here is a pop-up origami model of reflection:

The shape looks half-ready, because I only show two horizontal folded quadrilaterals, but four vertical ones. The reason is that I’m only interested in the quadrilaterals in the center in this post, but because they are being reflected from the neighboring quadrilaterals, I needed to include those as well.

If you look closely, you can also see that the image is still a bit wonky. I’m hoping that this wonkiness will be resolved by close analysis of the shape and finding the rules (equations) that describe these reflections. However, I won’t know whether this shape reflects reality or is just a compelling enough hypothesis before I’ve had more time to explore it. I have a good feeling about this shape, but I wouldn’t bet on it being error-free.

In the very happy occasion that the above model is a (qualitatively) accurate representation of reflective gravity, I can start converting the theory into a manuscript for peer-review. And just as long as I suggest this as a hypothesis for the interaction of non-charged molecules, there should be nothing for peer-reviewers to object to. But knowing reviewer 2, they still might.