CinemaOSMovie · 1979 · 0h 22m

Turning a Sphere Inside Out

Unfolding the impossible: turning a sphere inside out, without a single crease.

IMDbDocumentary

This video is about the problem of turning a sphere inside out, by passing the surface through itself, without making any holes or creases. Mathematicians believed the problem to be unsolvable until 1958, when Stephen Smale proved otherwise. The motion of turning a sphere inside out, called a regular homotopy, is extremely difficult to visualize. The homotopy in this film was developed by Bernard Morin, a blind mathematician. The motion is illustrated with a sequence of chicken-wire models, built by Charles Pugh, showing the crucial stages in the motion. Commentary is provided by mathematicians Nelson L. Max, Stephen Smale, and Charles Pugh, and by physicist Judith Bregmann.

Directed byNelson Max

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
0h 22m
Language
EN
Released
January 1, 1979
Studios
The Topology Films ProjectCase Western Reserve UniversityEducation Development Center (E/D/C)

Featuring

Cast & crew

4 credited
Starring

Nelson Max

Self

Stephen Smale

Self

Charles Pugh

Self

Judith Bregman

Self

Creative team
Directed by
Nelson Max

Keep watching

More like this

Magic Money: The Bitcoin Revolution7.5

Magic Money: The Bitcoin Revolution

2017 · Film

El hipercubo

El hipercubo

1986 · Film

NOVA: The Great Math Mystery7.8

NOVA: The Great Math Mystery

2015 · Film

The Story of 17.7

The Story of 1

2005 · Film

Ces mathématiciens qui firent plier le Kremlin8.0

Ces mathématiciens qui firent plier le Kremlin

2025 · Film

The Beauty and Complexity of the Mandelbrot Set

The Beauty and Complexity of the Mandelbrot Set

1989 · Film

Metamorphose: M.C. Escher, 1898-19727.0

Metamorphose: M.C. Escher, 1898-1972

1999 · Film

Spectrum: A Story of the Mind

Spectrum: A Story of the Mind

2015 · Film

Tour Eiffel : les 10 secrets de l'icône de Paris8.2

Tour Eiffel : les 10 secrets de l'icône de Paris

2026 · Film

Achieving the Unachievable5.0

Achieving the Unachievable

2007 · Film

Piece by Piece7.1

Piece by Piece

2024 · Film

The Genius of George Boole7.5

The Genius of George Boole

2015 · Film

Cassini's Grand Finale7.5

Cassini's Grand Finale

2017 · Film

New Horizons8.5

New Horizons

2015 · Film

Beautiful Young Minds6.9

Beautiful Young Minds

2007 · Film

Clouds Are Not Spheres7.7

Clouds Are Not Spheres

2010 · Film

Food6.2

Food

2014 · Film

Numbers Don’t Lie, Unlike Politicians: A Mathematical-Political Farce

Numbers Don’t Lie, Unlike Politicians: A Mathematical-Political Farce

2023 · Film

Eliyahu Rips: The Burning

Eliyahu Rips: The Burning

2016 · Film

Picked for you

Recommended movies

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red6.8

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red

2022 · Film

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear7.0

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear

2022 · Film

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button6.9

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button

2009 · Film

The Pixar Story7.5

The Pixar Story

2007 · Film

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye7.2

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye

2022 · Film

A Trip to Infinity7.1

A Trip to Infinity

2022 · Film

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me6.1

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me

2023 · Film

Girl Model6.5

Girl Model

2011 · Film

My Mom Jayne8.0

My Mom Jayne

2025 · Film

Interstellar: Nolan's Odyssey7.8

Interstellar: Nolan's Odyssey

2014 · Film

Love, Gilda7.2

Love, Gilda

2018 · Film

Come See Me in the Good Light7.2

Come See Me in the Good Light

2025 · Film

Behind the Planet of the Apes7.1

Behind the Planet of the Apes

1998 · Film

Directed by John Ford7.0

Directed by John Ford

1971 · Film

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library6.4

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

2017 · Film

The Director and the Jedi7.4

The Director and the Jedi

2018 · Film

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead7.4

More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead

2011 · Film

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead7.1

They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

2018 · Film

Seven Up!7.2

Seven Up!

1985 · Film

Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience6.9

Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

2016 · Film