If you remember (or still have) a landline phone, you've likely played with the cord that connects the handset to the base, the one that coils up like a spring. If so, you may have formed an unusual shape that doesn't occur in nature -- one that Harvard scientists have just officially recognized and named. It's called the hemihelix.
A hemihelix is a kind of kink that can form in any coiled shape, such as Slinky toys. The scientists used rubber bands to test their theory that the shape can be consistently replicated. Turns out it can.
"You can design this whole family of springs with very different behavior with predictable results," says Katia Bertoldi, the Harvard mechanics professor who led the hemihelix study. It isn't just of academic interest; Bertoldi says the hemihelix discovery could spur advances in nanodevices, such as sensors and springs.
The scientists also discovered how to make multiple hemihelices in a single spiral. So if you've ever twisted a phone cord or a Slinky into a not quite spiral shape, it turns out you were on the cutting edge of science.