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klein bottle.

Noun
Sci-FiHorrorSettingTechnical
MEANING

A closed one-sided mathematical surface with no boundary that cannot be embedded in ordinary three-dimensional space without self-intersection.

Use it for

a geometry without an ordinary consistent inside–outside orientation; a model for disorienting fictional spaces; ideal surface distinguished from its glass representation

Words that belong together

  • a Klein bottle
  • a Klein-bottle model

On the page

The Klein-bottle model crossed itself where three-dimensional space could not accommodate the ideal surface.
She compared the passage system to a Klein bottle without claiming the analogy explained its construction.

Related words

closed nonorientable surfaceKlein surface (not interchangeable in all mathematics)topology
Word forms
Base
klein bottle

Explore related collections

Horror vocabularyScience-fiction vocabulary

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular klein bottle; plural klein bottles. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.

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