Origami gets its name from two words “Oru” meaning “to fold” and “Kami” meaning “paper” in Japanese. It is the creative art of paper folding.
Origami in Various Cultures
Japan
Paper was first invented in China around 105 A.D., and was brought to Japan by 6th century Buddhist monks. Handmade paper was a luxury item back then and was made available to a limited elite.
This sense of prestige associated with paper soon made paper folding into pompous embellishment in weddings and ceremonies.
Ancient Japanese legend says that gods will grant a wish to anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes. Sadako Sasaki, a 10 year old Japanese girl affected by atomic bombings in Nagasaki, is popularly known for folding a thousand cranes before her death. Her story symbolizes innocent victims of war.
China
Traditional Chinese funerals often include burning of folded paper. This practice was introduced by replacing burning full-scale wood or clay replicas by Song Dynasty of 905-1125 CE.
Europe
Europe also has a tradition of paper folding that goes back to 12th century. The Moors brought a technique of mathematically based folding to Spain. The Spanish further developed paper folding into more sophisticated practice called “papiroflexia” or “pajarita”.
Training Your Mind With Origami
Origami is included in the elementary school curriculum in many countries. Not just for kids, consistent practice of origami is known to enhance concentration and patience, even in adults.
Here are some ways in which origami can improve mindfulness:
1. Focused Attention Meditation
In focused attention meditation, you are first asked to learn the folds by heart. Then you should emulate the procedure without help.
Use of the hands improves sensory cognition and activates several areas of the brain, like memory, non-verbal thinking, 3D comprehension, imagination, and fine motor skills.
Focused attention meditation can stabilize the mind and elevate calmness.
2. Ability to Stay in the Moment
Practicing paper folds can provide both distraction and focus at once. On one hand, it is a fun activity, visibly distant from academics. On the other hand, it draws undivided concentration.
Research suggests that origami is a valuable tool to develop spatial and perception skills. It's used to schools to refine dexterity, improve hand-eye coordination and to teach mathematics too.
3. Efficient Stress Buster
People often feel the urge to break or tear something when they get angry. All that rage can be diverted to paper folding instead. This is often propagated as an anger management technique.
The idea is that to shift your focus to another consuming task. A beautiful paper flower or butterfly is an extra present to self.
Transforming Science With Origami
This centuries old artform has even inspired scientists to tackle a vast variety of projects, ranging from creating shape-shifting pasta to improving noise barriers for roads. Some inspiring innovations are discussed here.
1. NASA’s Shape-Shifting Radiator Inspired by Origami
Vivek Dwivedi, a technologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, along with a couple of researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah developed an unconventional radiator that can fold and unfold, much like the V-groove paper structures created with origami.
This novel radiator controls the rate of heat loss with instant shape-shifting. Deeper the cavities in the radiator, the greater the absorption. Origami allows you to vary the depth of these cavities, thereby changing the heat loss from a surface in real time.
2. Star Shade
It is difficult to observe exoplanets as the stars they orbit are extremely radiant. So, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab are developing a giant flower-shaped shade for using with space telescopes.
The shade would fold up during launch and then spread out in space before being positioned in front of an orbiting space telescope. This will help to block starlight and permit detailed observations of exoplanets.
The engineers took their design cues from a popular origami pattern called “flasher” that allows a large sheet to collapse into a tightly packed cylinder.
3. Medical Implants
Origami is also a big source of inspiration for engineers who are working on innovative health care tools. For example, Brigham Young University researchers are developing foldable inserts that could one day be used to replace damaged cartilage in the spine.
Their idea and requirement are also similar to one in space research i.e., taking something big, making it as small as possible in order to get it where it needs to go, then unfurling it when it's needed.
Several elegant techniques like this are being developed, which can de-complicate life-threatening surgeries.
4. Foldscope: The Folded Microscope
Manu Prakash of Stanford University used the origami idea to make Foldscope. This device is mostly made of paper sheet and, combined with other necessary parts, costs less than one US dollar.
However, its technical precision is impressive. It gives 2,000X magnification with submicron resolution (800 nm), a weight less than 10 g, and is small enough (70 x 20 x 2 mm3) to fit into one’s pocket.
Edited by - Sandhya R
Ancient Japanese legend says that gods will grant a wish to anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes. Sadako Sasaki, a 10 year old Japanese girl affected by atomic bombings in Nagasaki, is popularly known for folding a thousand cranes before her death. Her story symbolizes innocent victims of war.
China
Traditional Chinese funerals often include burning of folded paper. This practice was introduced by replacing burning full-scale wood or clay replicas by Song Dynasty of 905-1125 CE.
Europe
Europe also has a tradition of paper folding that goes back to 12th century. The Moors brought a technique of mathematically based folding to Spain. The Spanish further developed paper folding into more sophisticated practice called “papiroflexia” or “pajarita”.
Training Your Mind With Origami
Origami is included in the elementary school curriculum in many countries. Not just for kids, consistent practice of origami is known to enhance concentration and patience, even in adults.
Here are some ways in which origami can improve mindfulness:
1. Focused Attention Meditation
In focused attention meditation, you are first asked to learn the folds by heart. Then you should emulate the procedure without help.
Use of the hands improves sensory cognition and activates several areas of the brain, like memory, non-verbal thinking, 3D comprehension, imagination, and fine motor skills.
Focused attention meditation can stabilize the mind and elevate calmness.
2. Ability to Stay in the Moment
Practicing paper folds can provide both distraction and focus at once. On one hand, it is a fun activity, visibly distant from academics. On the other hand, it draws undivided concentration.
Research suggests that origami is a valuable tool to develop spatial and perception skills. It's used to schools to refine dexterity, improve hand-eye coordination and to teach mathematics too.
3. Efficient Stress Buster
People often feel the urge to break or tear something when they get angry. All that rage can be diverted to paper folding instead. This is often propagated as an anger management technique.
The idea is that to shift your focus to another consuming task. A beautiful paper flower or butterfly is an extra present to self.
Transforming Science With Origami
This centuries old artform has even inspired scientists to tackle a vast variety of projects, ranging from creating shape-shifting pasta to improving noise barriers for roads. Some inspiring innovations are discussed here.
1. NASA’s Shape-Shifting Radiator Inspired by Origami
Vivek Dwivedi, a technologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, along with a couple of researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah developed an unconventional radiator that can fold and unfold, much like the V-groove paper structures created with origami.
This novel radiator controls the rate of heat loss with instant shape-shifting. Deeper the cavities in the radiator, the greater the absorption. Origami allows you to vary the depth of these cavities, thereby changing the heat loss from a surface in real time.
2. Star Shade
It is difficult to observe exoplanets as the stars they orbit are extremely radiant. So, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab are developing a giant flower-shaped shade for using with space telescopes.
The shade would fold up during launch and then spread out in space before being positioned in front of an orbiting space telescope. This will help to block starlight and permit detailed observations of exoplanets.
The engineers took their design cues from a popular origami pattern called “flasher” that allows a large sheet to collapse into a tightly packed cylinder.
3. Medical Implants
Origami is also a big source of inspiration for engineers who are working on innovative health care tools. For example, Brigham Young University researchers are developing foldable inserts that could one day be used to replace damaged cartilage in the spine.
Their idea and requirement are also similar to one in space research i.e., taking something big, making it as small as possible in order to get it where it needs to go, then unfurling it when it's needed.
Several elegant techniques like this are being developed, which can de-complicate life-threatening surgeries.
4. Foldscope: The Folded Microscope
Manu Prakash of Stanford University used the origami idea to make Foldscope. This device is mostly made of paper sheet and, combined with other necessary parts, costs less than one US dollar.
However, its technical precision is impressive. It gives 2,000X magnification with submicron resolution (800 nm), a weight less than 10 g, and is small enough (70 x 20 x 2 mm3) to fit into one’s pocket.
Moreover, Foldscope does not need any external power. Surprisingly, it is also a heavy-duty device. It was not damaged even after dropping from a three-story building.
5. Self Assembling Robot
Some real-life robots are becoming more interesting than Transformers robots. MIT and Harvard researchers are building robots which can assemble themselves.
All the materials for the machine are quite flat but they can fold to create a device that can move on its own and make turns. The flat panels are embedded with electronics and connected by hinges.
They are also made of materials that contract and fold when heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). Also as shocking as it may sound, the machine takes only four minutes to assemble.
These inspiring ideas prove that power of Origami is infinite. So, start thinking, grab a sheet paper, fold it away and change the world.
Written by - Saija Bhumireddy
5. Self Assembling Robot
Some real-life robots are becoming more interesting than Transformers robots. MIT and Harvard researchers are building robots which can assemble themselves.
All the materials for the machine are quite flat but they can fold to create a device that can move on its own and make turns. The flat panels are embedded with electronics and connected by hinges.
They are also made of materials that contract and fold when heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). Also as shocking as it may sound, the machine takes only four minutes to assemble.
These inspiring ideas prove that power of Origami is infinite. So, start thinking, grab a sheet paper, fold it away and change the world.
Written by - Saija Bhumireddy
Edited by - Sandhya R
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