ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

De Bruijn torus

A de Bruijn torus is like a game board with numbers and letters written on it. You can start at any point on the board and follow a path connecting the different numbers and letters.

Imagine a small board with only three letters, A, B, and C. You can arrange these letters in a circle so that each letter is next to the other two - this is the torus part. Then, you can draw paths between the letters, making sure that each path goes through two letters and never crosses itself.

Now, let's say you want to create a code using these letters, like a secret message to your friend. You could write out a bunch of different paths on the board, and use each path to represent a different word or letter in your message.

The cool thing about the de Bruijn torus is that you can make it as big as you want, with as many letters as you want. This means you can create an infinite number of different paths and codes, all based on the same torus arrangement.

Overall, a de Bruijn torus is a neat mathematical concept that helps us create codes and patterns using circular arrangements of letters or numbers.