how can I fold paper (8.5 x 11) more than 7 times??

Question

They said you can't do it....Can u???

Answer 1

The Mythbusters tackled this one. A normal sheet of writing paper, no, it can't be done. Simply put, it's the ratio of the paper's thickness to its surface area which determines how many times you can fold it. And for normal paper, you just can't do it.

BUT, if you were to obtain gossamer thin paper paper (thinner than tracing paper) it's possible you could do it.

The Mythbusters tactic was to use a very large sheet of paper....like half the size of a football field...and with the aid of a bulldozer, yes, a bulldozer, they were able to fold it in half eleven times.

Answer 2

To get the 8th fold, you'd have 2^8 (256) thicknesses of paper, and an area 1/256 (1/16 by 1/16 if alternating fold directions) of the original page. That's a half-ream thickness, with an area of about 0.5 by 0.75 inches, both of which are smaller than thickness. At that point it is too thick and too small to fold.

However, a respondent below suggested a different approach: don't alternate directions. I was able to fold a sheet the long way five consecutive times, and then three more times the other way afterward.

Here's the proof:
http://www.ninjasoft.com/ozone/fold/

Answer 3

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Answer 4

fold it in half as many times as you can long ways then in half the last one you ahve to bite it but it can be one. my teacher paid me 50 bucks to do this

Answer 5

So they say.
This was done on mythbusters in an airplane hangor.
I think they got more than 7.