Skip to main content

All Questions

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
52 votes
5 answers
2k views

Tetris-like falling sticky disks

Suppose unit-radius disks fall vertically from $y=+\infty$, one by one, and create a random jumble of disks above the $x$-axis. When a falling disk hits another, it stops and sticks there. Otherwise, ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
29 votes
3 answers
2k views

Growing random trees on a lattice $\rightarrow$ Voronoi diagrams

Imagine growing trees from $k$ seeds on a square $n \times n$ region of $\mathbb{Z}^2$. At each step, a unit-length edge $e$ between two points of $\mathbb{Z}^2$ is added. The edge $e$ is chosen ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
16 votes
6 answers
2k views

Optimal pebble-packing shape

Suppose you throw many ($n$) congruent convex bodies (in $\mathbb{R}^3$) of unit volume (or of unit area in $\mathbb{R}^2$) into a large container, and shake it until little else changes. Q. ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
676 views

Midpoint lattice polygons

Midpoint polygons (a.k.a Kasner polygons) have been studied, and their behavior is well understood. I am considering a variant, which I call midpoint lattice polygons. Start with a sequence of ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar