Pringles are Hyperbolic Paraboloids

Pringles are hyperbolic paraboloids. What? Come again?

Yes, I am talking about these crispy crunchy potato chips which taste great and give a boost of energy. We love them all, whether it is a Pringles, Lay’s or Frito’s. But it is not only the fantastic taste these munchies have in common; they all come in the same saddle-like shape, or as the mathematicians would say a hyperbolic paraboloids shape.

The hyperbolic paraboloid is a doubly ruled surface shape which resembles a saddle. In a suitable coordinate system, a hyperbolic paraboloid can be represented by the equation:

For c>0, this is a hyperbolic paraboloid that opens down along the x-axis and up along the y-axis (i.e., the parabola in the plane x=0 opens upward and the parabola in the plane y=0 opens downward).

I guess that’s more theory than you might want to know. Therefore, let’s move on to applications and fun facts about hyperbolic paraboloids.

Because a hyperbolic paraboloid is double ruled surface it can be used to construct a saddle roof from straight beams. An example of that is the Ochota railway station in Warszawa, Poland.

According to the Pringles potato-chip company, the shape allows the snack to be securely stacked in a canister to prevent breakage during packaging and transport.

March 14th is National Potato Chip day. A curious day. I wonder when the time will come and we celebrate a national hyperbolic paraboloid day.

Until then look out for algebra tutors helping you to ask your test on paraboloids.

Dirk Wagner

About Dirk Wagner

Dirk Wagner is owner of Tutorz LLC. He holds a M.S. degree in computer science and has 8 years of experience as software engineer and researcher. Dirk has tutored math and computer science to dozens of students in Southern California. You can find him on Google+, youtube, facebook, twitter, tumblr, quora and pinterest.
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