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interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:10 pm
by Dickarms
a hexagon and a square, of equal areas, will have different perimeters. seems simple, but crazy. discuss.
the hexagon will be smaller in perimeter, by the way.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:22 pm
by ovid9
Slow sunday afternoon at the Youngblood residence eh?
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:26 pm
by clipless bumper
Caue a circle is the most efficient enclosure for area - a hexagon is closer to a circle than a square is.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:26 pm
by Dickarms
samsung austin semiconductor, to be precise. buy more phones!
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:28 pm
by Dickarms
mamberg wrote:Caue a circle is the most efficient enclosure for area - a hexagon is closer to a circle than a square is.
true. still, it boggles the mind when you try to actually realize it, like if you had 100 skittles lying on the table, you could corral them with a shorter piece of string into a hexagon than you could a square. seems odd.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:30 pm
by Dickarms
well i guess it becomes clear thinking of the opposite side of it, that you could create really long inefficient oval around them if placed side by side.
carry on.
i saw this on the article about the new space telescope using hexagonal mirrors instead of square panels because they are more efficient due to this principle.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:32 pm
by ovid9
I guess it isn't odd to me as I grew up playing hexagonal based board games. I figured out young that it was more efficient to do so (as well as giving you 6 easy to track movement routes) but I never thought about the math in it.
I wish I'd thought of the math more as its interesting to me know and I know jack crap about it. I fumble through even the simplest geometry and algebra problems is so sad.


Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:39 pm
by Dickarms
like...chinese checkers? i used to rule at that game.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:24 pm
by ovid9
lol
Naw, bunch of old wargames mostly. Squad leader, the russian campaign, Gaudalcanal, The Battle of the Bulge, D-Day. Various others.

Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:33 pm
by rear naked
Y0UNGBL00D wrote:mamberg wrote:Caue a circle is the most efficient enclosure for area - a hexagon is closer to a circle than a square is.
true. still, it boggles the mind when you try to actually realize it, like if you had 100 skittles lying on the table, you could corral them with a shorter piece of string into a hexagon than you could a square. seems odd.
What about a 2x2 meter square
P=8m
A=4m^2
compared with a rectangle of the same area, A=4m^2
short sides are length 10^-100m
long sides are length 4*10^100m
Perimeter is 800,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 meters
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 5:38 pm
by clipless bumper
About as far from a circle as you can get.....
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 6:07 pm
by Dickarms
that was the opposite solution i proposed.
i mean its all very simple in concept, just never bothered to stop and realize the significance of the ratio of perimeter to area. the more you know...
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:31 am
by Cirrus
It's also the reason water tanks are often spherical or at least cylindrical - most storage space with the least surface area.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:38 pm
by clipless bumper
Cirrus wrote:It's also the reason water tanks are often spherical or at least cylindrical - most storage space with the least surface area.
and it's the strongest - less material needed.
The center of large flat sides would easily deflect (thus needing to be much stronger/thicker), compared to a sphere, where it's all strong by virtue of the shape.
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 12:12 am
by rear naked
Here is one for you...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel's_HornA shape with finite volume but infinite surface area
Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:45 am
by VTM
ovid9 wrote:lol
Naw, bunch of old wargames mostly. Squad leader, the russian campaign, Gaudalcanal, The Battle of the Bulge, D-Day. Various others.

You ever play dis?

Re: interesting mathematical property
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:47 am
by long standing member
well, since I'm a biologist, might as well throw this one on the pile
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/1999/aug/26/technology Let's make a poll of this thread!

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