Can You Fold Paper to the Moon? Brain Teaser Solved

This classic brain teaser has been around for a while, and it's a fun way to explore the concept of exponential growth. The question is simple: how many times can you fold a piece of paper in half before it reaches the moon?

The answer, surprisingly, is not that many. You might think you need to fold it dozens, even hundreds of times. But the truth is, you can only fold a standard piece of paper in half a maximum of about 7 times.

Why is it so hard to fold paper many times?

The reason it's so difficult is that each fold doubles the thickness of the paper. This means that after just a few folds, the paper becomes incredibly thick and rigid, making it impossible to fold further.

Think about it: the first fold doubles the thickness, the second fold doubles it again, and so on. This is exponential growth, and it quickly gets out of hand.

The Math Behind the Moon

Let's do some quick math to see why folding paper to the moon is impossible. The distance to the moon is about 238,900 miles.

Assuming you start with a standard piece of paper that is 0.1 mm thick, after 7 folds, the paper would be about 128 mm thick. To reach the moon, the paper would need to be 238,900 miles thick, which is about 3.84 x 10^11 mm.

To reach this thickness, you would need to fold the paper 42 times!

The Takeaway

While it's fun to think about folding paper to the moon, it's physically impossible. This brain teaser is a great way to understand the power of exponential growth and how quickly things can increase in size.

So next time someone asks you this question, you can confidently explain why it's impossible and impress them with your knowledge of math and science!