Alex Science article Scaling properties of stretching ridges in a crumpled elastic sheet Alex Lobkovsky, James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637. David Morse, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara CA 93106. The cut edges were then joined to form a boat shape showing a ridge singularity. Distance between vertices is 1377 times the thickness.
Color indicates ratio of stretching to bending energy.
Near the vertices bending energy is more than ten times stretching energy. In the middle of the ridge bending energy is 4.9 times stretching energy. Alternating color stripes flanking the ridge are caused by the vanishing of first stretching energy, then bending energy as one moves away from the ridge. Faint induced ridges extend from each vertex and meet at the edges at front and back. Similar ridge structures occur when a sheet or membrane is crumpled.