Packing circles

Packing away the snowman items in the house, Clare said it's a math problem to get these mugs back in the circular Williams-Sonoma box and delegated the task. The trick, of course, is realizing that the one in the center goes in the opposite direction from the five around the outside.

Several years ago I read an interesting book, _Kepler’s Conjecture_ — http://www.amazon.com/Keplers-Conjecture-Greatest-History-Problems/dp/0471086010/ — about the solution to a rather innocent question that was posed in the late 16th century: "What is the best way to pack balls as densely as possible?"

The question was asked by Sir Walter Raleigh as he was preparing for an expedition and was considering the storage of cannonballs for the journey. It stymied Raleigh's assistant who put the question to one of the foremost mathematicians, physicists and astronomers of the time, Johannes Kepler. Kepler's conjecture was that the best method is to pack them just as market vendors stack their spherical fruits and vegetables.

This was probably adequate for Raleigh's assistant, but it took the world's mathematicians — including Newton, Gauss and Hilbert — approximately 400 years to devise a mathematical proof, the Hales-Ferguson proof — http://www.amazon.com/Kepler-Conjecture-Hales-Ferguson-Proof/dp/1461411289/

For yet more on the topic—
» http://mathworld.wolfram.com/KeplerConjecture.html
» http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SpherePacking.html

1 year ago (“Dresden Rose”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2015-01-31
2 years ago (“Woods in winter”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2014-01-31
3 years ago (“Wintry crossroads”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-01-31
4 years ago (“They may be BPA free…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-01-31
5 years ago (“Do you think campus police will notice?”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-01-31

[ IMG_8792A12x8tm :: f/2.8 :: 1/60" :: ISO-800 :: 60mm ]

[Taffy]

A fascinating read -- the image is perfect to lead into it. And I like the way you show the circles on the spiral stair lines.

[Jane Anderson]

Ha! Ha! Clare knows the best division of labor! I gave a similar task to Charlie when packing away our nativity scene this year. This is a great photo and interesting narrative too.

[Danette Thompson]

We just packed up the Village and some of those boxes are trying!

[Sheralee S]

Oh yes, I work in a gift shop every now and then and boxes are a nightmare! Not only fitting things back in but finding the right one out of thousands is a challenge all of it's own. Interesting story to go with your shot.

[Rick Schies]

Well I guess you can say she has a good teacher on standby if needed but it looks like she managed it all quite well