The Full Fibration

Visualize dozens of fibers simultaneously, colored by their base point on S²

Seeing the Whole Picture

Now we render many fibers simultaneously, one for each sampled point on S². Each fiber is colored by the position of its base point — longitude determines hue, latitude determines lightness. The result is one of the most beautiful structures in all of mathematics.

Orbit around the scene to appreciate how the circles interweave. Despite being densely packed, no two fibers ever intersect — they fill space without collision.

Full Fibration Viewer

Increase the density to see more fibers. At high density, the torus-like structure of nested surfaces becomes visible — the 3-sphere is revealed as a continuous family of tori.

60 fibers

Key insight: The rainbow coloring encodes the base point on S². Fibers with similar colors have nearby base points — the fibration is a continuous map.

Torus Decomposition

Each latitude circle on S² contributes a torus of fibers. Drag the latitude to watch the torus morph. At the equator (θ = 90°) you see the Clifford torus, a flat torus that divides S³ into two congruent solid tori — one of the most remarkable facts in 3-sphere topology.

Key Takeaways

  • No intersections — Despite filling all of S³, no two fibers ever cross
  • Continuity — Nearby base points on S² produce nearby fibers in S³
  • Clifford torus — The equatorial fibers form a flat torus that splits S³ in half