All Questions
2,368 questions
143
votes
6
answers
12k
views
Gaussian prime spirals
Imagine a particle in the complex plane, starting at $c_0$, a Gaussian integer,
moving initially $\pm$ in the horizontal
or vertical directions. When it hits a Gaussian prime, it turns left $90^\circ$...
- 151k
99
votes
7
answers
20k
views
Can we cover the unit square by these rectangles?
The following question was a research exercise (i.e. an open problem) in R. Graham, D.E. Knuth, and O. Patashnik, "Concrete Mathematics", 1988, chapter 1.
It is easy to show that
$$\sum_{1 \...
- 5,502
95
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Can a row of five equilateral triangles tile a big equilateral triangle?
Can rotations and translations of this shape
perfectly tile some equilateral triangle?
I originally asked this on math.stackexchange where it was well received and we made some good progress. Here's ...
- 3,137
94
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Is there a dense subset of the real plane with all pairwise distances rational?
I heard the following two questions recently from Carl Mummert, who encouraged me to spread them around. Part of his motivation for the questions was to give the subject of computable model theory ...
- 236k
88
votes
2
answers
7k
views
79
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Does every polyomino tile R^n for some n?
This is a question posed by Adam Chalcraft. I am posting it here because I think it deserves wider circulation, and because maybe someone already knows the answer.
A polyomino is usually defined to ...
- 82.6k
69
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Nonconvexity and discretization
Edit: Here's a more down-to-earth, and somewhat weakened, but I believe still nontrivial, version of the main theorem.
Prototypical nonconvex spaces are $\ell^p$-spaces for $0<p<1$, say $\ell^p(\...
- 21.3k
69
votes
3
answers
9k
views
What is the status of the Gauss Circle Problem?
For $r > 0$, let $L(r) = \# \{ (x,y) \in \mathbb{Z}^2 \ | \ x^2 + y^2 \leq r^2\}$ be the number of lattice points lying on or inside the standard circle of radius $r$. It is easy to see that $L(r) ...
- 65.4k
67
votes
22
answers
10k
views
When has discrete understanding preceded continuous?
From my limited perspective, it appears that the understanding
of a mathematical phenomenon has usually been achieved,
historically, in a continuous setting
before it was fully explored in a discrete ...
65
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How many unit cylinders can touch a unit ball?
What is the maximum number $k$ of unit radius, infinitely long cylinders with mutually disjoint interiors that can touch a unit ball?
By a cylinder I mean a set congruent to the Cartesian product of ...
- 7,276
65
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How many cubes cover a bigger cube?
How many $n$-dimensional unit cubes
are needed to cover a cube with side
lengths $1+\epsilon$ for some
$\epsilon>0$?
For n=1, the answer is obviously two. For n=2, the drawing below shows that ...
- 11.6k
55
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Is it possible to partition $\mathbb R^3$ into unit circles?
Is it possible to partition $\mathbb R^3$ into unit circles?
- 1,414
55
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Do unit quaternions at vertices of a regular 4-simplex, one being 1, generate a free group?
Choose unit quaternions $q_0, q_1, q_2, q_3, q_4$ that form the vertices of a regular 4-simplex in the quaternions. Assume $q_0 = 1$. Let the other four generate a group via quaternion ...
- 22.3k
54
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Can an arbitrary collection of circles of total area 1/2 fit into a circle of area 1?
Assume the circles are actually open disks, otherwise two circles each of area $\frac{1}{4}$ wouldn't fit into the circle of area 1.
This seems like it should be true, thinking about packing density,...
- 1,916
53
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Why do bees create hexagonal cells ? (Mathematical reasons)
Question 0 Are there any mathematical phenomena which are related to the form of honeycomb cells?
Question 1 Maybe hexagonal lattices satisfy certain optimality condition(s) which are related to it? ...
- 24.9k
52
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Is the "Napkin conjecture" open? (origami)
The falsity of the following conjecture would be a nice counter-intuitive fact.
Given a square sheet of perimeter $P$, when folding it along origami moves, you end up with some polygonal flat figure ...
- 1,306
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, ...
- 151k
52
votes
2
answers
3k
views
vector balancing problem
I believe the solution posted to the arXiv on June 17 by Marcus, Spielman, and Srivastava is correct.
This problem may be hard, so I don't expect an off-the-cuff solution. But can anyone suggest ...
- 42.8k
51
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Can the sphere be partitioned into small congruent cells?
On the unit $2$-sphere ${\mathbb S}^2$ furnished with the geodesic distance, a subset homeomorphic to a planar disk is called a cell. A finite family of cells is a tiling if their interiors are ...
- 7,276
51
votes
4
answers
7k
views
what-if.xkcd.com: stabbing (simply connected) regions on the 2-sphere with few geodesics
In the latest what-if Randall Munroe ask for the smallest number of geodesics that intersect all regions of a map. The following shows that five paths of satellites suffice to cover the 50 states of ...
- 10.7k
49
votes
4
answers
4k
views
What fraction of the integer lattice can be seen from the origin?
Consider the integer lattice points in the positive quadrant $Q$ of $\mathbb{Z}^2$.
Say that a point $(x,y)$ of $Q$ is visible from the origin if the
segment from $(0,0)$ to $(x,y) \in Q$ passes ...
- 151k
49
votes
5
answers
3k
views
If a unitsquare is partitioned into 101 triangles, is the area of one at least 1%?
Update: The answer to the title question is no, as pointed out by Tapio and Willie. I would be more interested in lower bounds.
Monsky's famous theorem with amazingly tricky proof says that if we ...
- 18.7k
48
votes
8
answers
5k
views
A sudden smiley? :-)
This is a vague question, and I will no doubt be (properly!) chastised for posing it.
I would like to generate a set $S$ of points in $\mathbb{R}^3$—$|S|$ finite or infinite—which
has the ...
- 151k
45
votes
1
answer
3k
views
two tetrahedra in $\mathbb R^4$
It is relatively easy to show (see below) that if we have two equilateral triangles of side 1 in $\mathbb R^3$,
such that their union has diameter $1,$ then they must share a vertex.
I wonder whether ...
- 1,359
45
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Pach's "Animals": What if the genus is positive?
Janos Pach asked a deep question 23 years ago (1988) that remains unsolved today:
Can every animal—a topological ball in $\mathbb{R^3}$ composed of unit cubes glued face-to-face—be ...
- 151k
45
votes
0
answers
921
views
Extending a line-arrangement so that the bounded components of its complement are triangles
Given a finite collection of lines $L_1,\dots,L_m$ in ${\bf{R}}^2$, let $R_1,\dots,R_n$ be the connected components of ${\bf{R}}^2 \setminus (L_1 \cup \dots \cup L_m)$, and say that $\{L_1,\dots,L_m\}...
- 19.7k
43
votes
12
answers
2k
views
Can a discrete set of the plane of uniform density intersect all large triangles?
Let S be a discrete subset of the Euclidean plane such that the number of points in a large disc is approximately equal to the area of the disc. Does the complement of S necessarily contain triangles ...
- 17.9k
43
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Can a regular icosahedron contain a rational point on each face?
The title says it all: Is there a (regular) icosahedron containing a rational point on each of its faces?
For other Platonic solids, the affirmative answer is easy. Indeed, regular tetrahedra, cubes, ...
- 23.7k
42
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does any set of dominoes tile some common figure?
Let $D_1,\dots,D_n \subset \mathbb{Z}^2$ be two-point sets, i.e. 'dominoes' (unlike common dominoes, these are not necessarily connected, but I couldn't come up with a better name).
Does there always ...
- 1,209
41
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is there a regular pentagon with a rational point on each edge?
This question was asked by Yaakov Baruch in the comments to the question Can a regular icosahedron contain a rational point on each face? It seems that this question deserves special attention.
- 12.3k
41
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Can one recover the smooth Gauss Bonnet theorem from the combinatorial Gauss Bonnet theorem as an appropriate limit?
First let me state two known theorems.
Theorem 1 (for smooth manifolds): Let $(M,g)$ be a smooth compact two dimensional Riemannian manifold. Then
$$ \int \frac{K}{2 \pi} dA = \chi (M) $$
where $K$ ...
- 3,245
41
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Can the unsolvability of quintics be seen in the geometry of the icosahedron?
Q1. Is it possible to somehow "see" the unsolvability of quintic polynomials
in the $A_5$ symmetries of the icosahedron (or dodecahedron)?
Perhaps this is too vague a question.
Q2. Are there ...
- 151k
41
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can we find lattice polyhedra with faces of area 1,2,3,...?
I asked this question two months ago on MSE, where it earned the rare
Tumbleweed badge for garnering zero votes, zero answers, and 25 views over 61 days.
Perhaps justifiably so! Here I repeat it with ...
- 151k
41
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Conjecture: If circular coins of any sizes are in a convex polygonal frame, with each coin touching exactly one edge, then all the coins can move
Suppose some circular coins (not necessarily the same size) are in a frame. The coins may be immobile, as in this example:
On the other hand, they may be free to move, as in these examples (in which ...
- 3,507
40
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Four circles on the sphere
Consider generic configurations consisting of 4 distinct circles on the sphere.
Two configurations are equivalent if they can be mapped onto each other by a homeomorphism of the sphere. How to ...
- 91.8k
39
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Chromatic number of the hyperbolic plane
A notorious problem in combinatorics is the following:
If we color $\mathbb{R}^2$ so that no pair of points at unit distance get the same color, what is the fewest number of colors required?
This ...
- 7,857
38
votes
7
answers
5k
views
Shortest path connecting two opposite points on a cube
Is it true, that a path connecting two opposite points (i.e. such that the segment joining them passes through the centre of mass of the cube) on the surface of the $d$-dimensional unit cube (with $d&...
- 1,431
36
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Bodies of constant width?
In two-dimensional case one can generalize figures of constant width as figures which can rotate in a convex polygon.
Here is one example which can be used to drill triangular holes:
I would like to ...
- 45k
36
votes
0
answers
2k
views
3-colorings of the unit distance graph of $\Bbb R^3$
Let $\Gamma$ be the unit distance graph of $\Bbb R^3$: points $(x,y)$ form an edge if $|x,y|=1$.
Let $(A,B,C,D)$ be a unit side rhombus in the plane, with a transcendental diagonal, e.g. $A = (\alpha,...
- 17k
35
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Why are optimization problems often called "programs"?
Why are optimization problems often called programs?
linear programming
geometric programming
convex programming
Integer programming
...
- 461
35
votes
3
answers
2k
views
The kissing number of a square, cube, hypercube?
How many nonoverlapping unit squares can (nonoverlappingly) touch one unit square?
By "nonoverlapping" I mean: not sharing an interior point.
By "touch" I mean: sharing a boundary point.
&...
- 151k
35
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Tiling a rectangle with a hint of magic
Here's a a famous problem:
If a rectangle $R$ is tiled by rectangles $T_i$ each of which has at least one integer side length, then the tiled rectangle $R$ has at least one integer side length.
There ...
- 4,952
35
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the oriented Fano plane?
One way to remember the multiplication table of the octonions is to use the following diagram (which I got from John Baez's online paper): if $(e_i,e_j,e_k)$ is one of the lines listed according to ...
- 47.3k
34
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Covering a unit ball with balls half the radius
This is a direct (and obvious) generalization of the recent MO question, "Covering disks with smaller disks":
How many balls of radius $\frac{1}{2}$ are needed to cover completely a ball of ...
- 151k
34
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Tiling a square with rectangles
Is it possible to completely tile a square with different rectangles of integer sides but all with the same area?
The original problem, not requiring integer sides for rectangles, was proposed by Joe ...
- 3,707
33
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there a configuration of 5 points on the plane where any two can be covered by an axis aligned rectangle?
I'm trying to figure out the question in the title for a project that I'm working on.
My goal is to find a configuration of five integer points on the plane, where we can overlap any pair of them ...
- 473
33
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Do bubbles between plates approximate Voronoi diagrams?
For example, soap bubbles:
Image from UPenn:
"A 2-dimensional foam of wet soap bubbles squashed between glass plates, after 10 hours ...
- 151k
33
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How many random walk steps until the path self-intersects?
Take a random walk in the plane from the origin,
each step of unit length in a uniformly random direction.
Q. How many steps on average until the path self-intersects?
My simulations suggest ~$8....
- 151k
32
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Can every $\mathbb{Z}^2$ disk be pinball-reached?
Let every point of $\mathbb{Z}^2$ be surrounded by a mirrored disk of radius $r < \frac{1}{2}$,
except leave the origin $(0,0)$ unoccupied by a disk.
Q. Is it the case that every disk can be hit ...
- 151k
32
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Nonconvex manhole covers
One common reason given for the circularity of manhole covers is that they can't fall through the manhole. For convex manhole covers, this property is equivalent to having constant width — if ...
- 5,275