An applied mathematician looks at trash bins…

[Filler] Our city finally went to standardized trash bins. Every residential customer has been provided with one 95 gallon roll-out cart or one 45 gallon roll-out cart. Here are the two sizes, side-by-side. Clare & I opted for the smaller bin, which by volume, is smaller by more than half.

That got me thinking. If the smaller bin has the same proportions as the larger bin, what's the ratio if the volumes differ by a factor of 2?

Of course, this would be the cube-root of 2 or approximately 1.2599. So the larger bin has to be larger in each dimension by only 25.99%. If it is, then the volume will be 1.2599³ = 2 times the volume of the smaller bin.

Now you see what Clare has had to live with for 38 years this month…

1 year ago, no post.
2 years ago (“Flat objects’ shadows on a curved surface”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2015-11-18
3 years ago (“Glands along edge of floral bud bracts”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2014-11-18
4 years ago (“Impatiens hybrid: ‘Fusion Radiance’”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-11-18
5 years ago (“A one-frame day”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-11-18
6 years ago (“I saved this only for 365…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-11-18

[ IMG_20171116_112612926_HDRS900x675Atm :: cell phone ]

[GaryW]

Hello Thom...Thanks for this picture showing your town name. I have an interesting connection to this city. I am selling a guitar and amp and the buyer (Olivia's Vintage) is located in Carbondale. Small world!

[Jane Anderson]

We have two--one for trash and one for recycle. Our recycle always has more things in it.

[Rachel]

My son thinks just like you. Everything can be whittled down to maths. He is awaiting his school results to see if he gets into an Engineering and Maths degree next year.

[Kathryn]

We have three! One for trash, one for recycling, and one for compost (throw in your trimmings and leaves, and they pick it up on trash day. The compost is the biggest one of the three. Hm...

[Thom Mitchell]

@thewatersphotos It's amazing to us how many people have a connection to Carbondale. We chatted with a wine pourer in Napa last year and his girlfriend had gone to school here!

[Thom Mitchell]

@888rachel Having the knack for thinking this way is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse, perhaps especially with the choice of having applied it to economics (rather than pure math or engineering or chemistry or physics)... My *perception* is that the U.S. has de-emphasized mathematics education, particularly in high school. And many Americans scratch their heads and wonder why we're losing in productivity comparisons against other countries. Yeaaaaah, not so hard to understand. I hope your son gets in the program he wants (not that I believe you have a child that old)!

[Thom Mitchell]

@janeandcharlie We have two recycling bins: one for paper and one for plastic + cans. It was ridiculous this week: we had one plastic bag of trash from a 13-gallon kitchen container that I dropped in the 45-gallon bin to roll out to the street. In this photo is our 45-gallon and a 95-gallon bin for one neighbor. They're late-20s with no children … yet!