ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Torsion coefficient (topology)

Okay kiddo, imagine you have a pipe cleaner. You twist it a little bit, and it stays bent in that shape. That's because pipe cleaners have torsion, which is a fancy way of saying they can twist and stay twisted.

Now, imagine you have a squishy doughnut. You can stretch it a little bit or squish it down, but no matter what you do it always goes back to the same shape. That's because doughnuts have a special property called topological torsion, which is kind of like torsion for shapes.

Topological torsion is a measure of how much a shape can twist or turn and still be the same shape. Think of it like a rubber band – you can stretch it and twist it as much as you want, but it always goes back to the same shape. That's because the rubber band has a high torsion coefficient.

In mathematics, we use topological torsion to study the properties of shapes and spaces. We can measure how much a shape can twist or turn, and we can use that information to understand things like how two shapes are related to each other, or how we can turn one shape into another shape without tearing it or cutting it.

So, in conclusion, topological torsion is a special property of shapes that tells us how much they can twist or turn without changing their basic structure. It's like the torsion of a pipe cleaner, but for shapes instead of objects.