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11 votes
1 answer
403 views

Smallest sphere containing three tetrahedra?

What is the smallest possible radius of a sphere which contains 3 identical plastic tetrahedra with side length 1?
trionyx's user avatar
  • 111
3 votes
0 answers
167 views

A formal inquiry of geometric-problem solving

Let $\Lambda$ be a finite set. Let $\mathcal{L}$ be a finite collection of lines on a plane $X$. Then, define $X^*(\mathcal{L}) = \bigcup_{L_\alpha\neq L_\beta} L_{\alpha}\cap L_{\beta}$ to be the ...
Pathikrit Basu's user avatar
21 votes
0 answers
735 views
+300

Snakes on a plane

A sleeping bag for a baby snake in $d$ dimensions (no, really) is a subset of $\mathbb{R}^d$ which can cover (via translation and rotation) every (piecewise-smooth for concreteness) curve of unit ...
Noah Schweber's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
84 views

Another variant of the Malfatti problem

We try to add to A Variant of the Malfatti Problem As stated in the Wikipedia entry on Malfatti circles, it is an open problem to decide, given a number $n$ and any triangle, whether a greedy method ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
4 votes
2 answers
219 views

Algorithm for grouping tetrahedra from Voronoi diagram

I have a set of 3D Voronoi generator points and their neighbouring points, which, when connected, should result in a Delaunay tetrahedralization. However, I'm having a hard time implementing this. My ...
catmousedog's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
330 views

Billiard circuits in pentagons

A billiard circuit in a convex $n$-gon is a closed billiard path of $n$ segments reflecting from consecutive edges of the polygon. Every regular $n$-gon has such a billiard circuit: Recently a ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
226 views

Algorithm to dissect a polygon into a minimum amount of rectangles, conditioned on a maximum overlap

I have the following problem, I have a problem regarding concave polygons. I want to write code to cover any polygon with a minimum amount of rectangles that are allowed to overlap and have no fixed ...
PeterCrouch's user avatar
25 votes
1 answer
513 views

Is there an inventory of closed billiard paths in a regular tetrahedron?

Conway found a closed billiard-ball trajectory in a regular tetrahedron: Image: Izidor Hafner Since then Bedaride and Rao Bedaride, Nicolas, and Michael Rao. "Regular simplices and periodic ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
366 views

Illumination from visible lattice points with inverse square intensity

It is well known that the number of $\mathbb{Z}^2$ lattice points visible from the origin is $6/\pi^2$, about $61$%. See, e.g., What fraction of the integer lattice can be seen from the origin?. I am ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
298 views

Does Kalai's $3^d$ conjecture hold for simplicial spheres?

Kalai's $3^d$ conjecture asserts that every centrally symmetric $d$-polytope has at least $3^d$ non-empty faces. This is open in general, but has been proven for simplicial polytopes. Question: Does ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
4 votes
0 answers
111 views

Advice on results for balls on regular $N$-dimensional grids

I have obtained some results regarding balls on regular $N$-dimensional grids. I would like expert opinion on wether the results are significant or interesting enough for (trying to) publish them in a ...
Luis Mendo's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
53 views

The optimal embedded and enclosing cardioids for a triangle

Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardioid Earlier posts with similar questions: Smallest 3-ellipses that contain triangles and Curves of constant width that contain triangles Questions: Given any ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
2 votes
0 answers
105 views

Minimum number of points on sphere which cannot be covered by three double caps

What is the minimum number of points on the sphere $S^d \subset \mathbb{R}^{d+1}$ which cannot be covered by $d+1$ double caps? A double cap is defined to be a set $\{x \in S^d: |\langle x,a \rangle| &...
Tommy Williams's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
61 views

On largest convex m-gons contained in a given convex n-gon where m < n

This post is the inside-out variant of On smallest convex m-gons that contain a given n-gon where m<n Given a convex n-gon region P, and an m less than n, how to find the max area convex m-gon Q ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
0 votes
0 answers
93 views

On smallest convex m-gons that contain a given n-gon where m<n

Given a convex n-gon region P, and an m less than n, will the least area convex m-gon Q that contains P be such that an edge of Q coincides with an edge of P (in other words Q cannot be such that P ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
1 vote
1 answer
75 views

When do the centers of mass of a uniform convex planar region as a whole and of its boundary alone coincide?

Given a uniform planar convex region C, let us consider 2 centers of mass - the center of mass of the region as a whole and the center of mass of its boundary alone (assuming its boundary to have ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
8 votes
2 answers
489 views

Continuous point map for spherical domains

Consider the space $J$ of Jordan domains on the sphere $\textbf{S}^2$, i.e., continuous injective maps from the unit disk into $\textbf{S}^2$ modulo homeomorphisms of the disk. How can one construct a ...
Mohammad Ghomi's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
132 views

Planar convex region maximizing the difference in 'orientation' between its smallest containing rectangle and largest contained rectangle

We say a rectangle has orientation $\theta$ if the vector from its center to the middle of its shortest side (parallel to the longest side) has some angle $\theta$ with X axis. Consider a planar ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
1 vote
1 answer
78 views

To optimally wrap convex laminae with paper

Ref: On folding a polygonal sheet, Multi-layered wrapping of polyhedra Basic intent: to wrap a given convex planar lamina with a convex sheet of non-stretchable paper (such that every point on both ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
4 votes
0 answers
222 views

What does it mean "parallel"?

I am thinking on a strict definition of the notion of parallel affine sets in a linear space and came to the following Definition 1: An affine set $A$ is parallel to an affine set $B$ in a linear ...
Taras Banakh's user avatar
  • 41.9k
3 votes
0 answers
76 views

A claim on planar sections of 3D convex bodies

Ref: More on shadows of 3D convex bodies, Shadows and planar sections of polyhedra Given a 3D convex body C, we define a maximal area (perimeter) section of C with respect to any specified direction $...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
2 votes
0 answers
114 views

More on shadows of 3D convex bodies

Ref: Shadows and planar sections of polyhedra By shadow we mean the orthogonal projection of a convex 3D body C onto a 2D plane, for example, the shadow on the xy-plane, with C above (z>0) that ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
1 vote
0 answers
72 views

Intercept theorem in $\mathbb R^n$

The celebrated intercept theorem(also known as Thales's theorem) provides the ratios between the line segments created when two parallel lines are intercepted by two intersecting lines. I'm looking ...
Bobby Miraftab's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
52 views

On families of lines that cut the boundary of a planar convex region in a specified ratio

We proceed from A claim on the concurrency of area bisectors of planar convex regions This question is somewhat broad. Background: 'Mathematical Omnibus' by Fuchs and Tabachnikov, Lecture 11 describes ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
7 votes
1 answer
248 views

Decidability of completing Penrose tilings

Is the following problem known to be un/decidable? Problem: Given a finite configuration of Penrose tiles in the plane, determine if there is an extension of the configuration tiling the whole plane.
interstice's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
114 views

Find at least one square-boxed subcontinuum

Recall that a plane continuum is a closed, bounded, connected subset of the plane. It is non-degenerate if it contains at least two points. (We may sometimes just say "continuum" even if we ...
Mirko's user avatar
  • 1,375
10 votes
0 answers
177 views

Minimum reflection paths in a mirror polygon

Let $P$ be a simple, orthogonal polygon of $n$ edges, i.e., one whose edges meet at right angles, and is non-self-intersecting; also known as a rectilinear polygon. Treat every edge of $P$ as a ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
435 views

On the aperiodic monotile

One of the more mind-boggling aspects of the Penrose tiles is that there are uncountably many distinct tilings of the plane, but every tiling contains every finite region that appears in another ...
Jim Conant's user avatar
  • 4,898
1 vote
0 answers
57 views

Inside-out dissections of solids

We add to Inside-out dissections of polygons - a generalization. The inside-out (fully inside-out) dissections are defined on pages linked there. How does one inside-out dissect a tetrahedron into ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
1 vote
0 answers
41 views

About the number of faces of the conification of a polytope

Let $P\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ be a polytope of dimension $(n-1)$ such that the origin $\vec{0}\not\in\text{Aff}(P)$, where $\text{Aff}(P)$ denotes the affine hull of $P$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$. Now, we ...
ElliptCg's user avatar
  • 131
1 vote
1 answer
127 views

Smallest trapeziums containing a given convex n-gon

Question: Given a planar convex $n$-gon $C$, to find the smallest area / smallest perimeter trapezium (trapezoid) - a convex quadrilateral with at least one pair of mutually parallel edges - that ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
3 votes
0 answers
65 views

Cutting triangles into triangles with equal longest side

This post elaborates on a specific instance of Cutting convex polygons into triangles of same diameter . Question: For any integer n, can any triangle be cut into n non-degenerate triangles all of ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
7 votes
1 answer
498 views

Is there a bicyclic irregular pentagon in integers?

Is there a bicyclic irregular pentagon in integers, i.e. is there a pentagon, the length of each side is integer and unique such that it has a circumcircle and an inner circle as well? If it does ...
shabo's user avatar
  • 71
4 votes
2 answers
254 views

Does the edge-graph of a centrally symmetric polytope determine which vertices are antipodal?

Given two origin symmetric convex polytopes $P_1$ and $P_2$ (that is $P_i=-P_i$) with the same edge-graph, but potentially of different dimensions and combinatorial types. Let $\phi: G_{P_1}\to G_{P_2}...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
1 vote
0 answers
69 views

Least number of squares of size N that a set of R rectangles can occupy

Given a set $R$ of rectangles of different positive integer sizes, and any number of squares of the same size $N\in\mathbb{N}$, what's the least number of squares $C$ that all the rectangles together ...
Loogai's user avatar
  • 119
0 votes
0 answers
74 views

The closest ellipse and circle to a given triangle - 2

We add a little more to The closest ellipse to a given triangle. The above linked discussion used the Hausdorff distance to quantify how close two planar convex regions are. In an earlier post - ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
4 votes
0 answers
132 views

Can a polytopal graph be "centrally symmetric" in more than one way?

Let $P,Q$ be two centrally symmetric convex polytopes, potentially of different dimensions and combinatorial type, but with the same edge-graph $G$. The central symmetry of $P$ induces an involutory ...
M. Winter's user avatar
  • 13.6k
1 vote
0 answers
46 views

Kissing behavior of planar regions

This post reworks a question that was stated in a slightly different form at Convex region $C$ with least kissing number of copies of $C$. Background: Given a 2D region $C$ (not necessarily convex), ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

On 'axiality' of planar convex regions

Axiality has been studied under a definition given here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiality_(geometry) Consider an alternative definition of axiality as follows: For a convex region C, consider a ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
3 votes
1 answer
111 views

Constrained morphing of polygons

This post continues 'Constrained morphing' of planar convex regions If an $m$-gon $P_m$ is to be morphed (altered continuously) into an $n$-gon $P_n$ with same area and perimeter, can one ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
2 votes
1 answer
84 views

'Constrained morphing' of planar convex regions

Morphing may be defined as a continuous transition of one shape to another. This post is about modifying planar regions continuously from one form to another under some constraints. Qn: If $C_1$ and $...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
1 vote
0 answers
38 views

Possible extensions of the perpendicular axes theorem for moment of inertia

This post continues on Moment of inertia from Bisectors and partitioning lines for convex regions defined with respect to the moment of inertia. The perpendicular axis theorem states that the moment ...
Nandakumar R's user avatar
  • 5,979
14 votes
0 answers
270 views

Regular $n$-gon with diagonals: bounds on area of largest cell?

Consider a regular $n$-gon of side length $1$ with diagonals. Here is an example with $n=11$ (from geogebra applet). I've been trying to find, in terms of $n$, bounds on the area of the largest cell, ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 3,527
5 votes
1 answer
397 views

How much of an aperiodic tiling is needed to force aperiodicity?

Consider an aperiodic tiling. By definition, there is a $C$ such that, for any box of side $C$, the part of the tiling contained in the box can be continued to the whole plane only in a non-periodic ...
H A Helfgott's user avatar
  • 20.2k
14 votes
1 answer
280 views

How many distances are required to calculate all distances among $n$ points in the Euclidean plane?

I want to know all the pairwise distances between points $P_1,P_2,\ldots,P_n$ in the Euclidean plane (or equivalently, I want to reconstruct the set of points up to congruence). Let's say I have an ...
tuna's user avatar
  • 523
15 votes
2 answers
779 views

How to characterize the regularity of a polygon?

In my research, I've recently started to play with Voronoi tessellations. I currently have a Python code that creates the tessellation and I am trying to color the polygonal regions according to their ...
Caio Tomás's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
73 views

Is parquetability decidable?

Let $T\neq \emptyset$ be a finite subset of $\mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}$. We say that $\mathbb{Z}^2 = \mathbb{Z}\times\mathbb{Z}$ is parquettable by $T$ if there is a partition $\frak P$ of $\mathbb{Z}...
Dominic van der Zypen's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
221 views

What properties are preserved by quasi-isometries

Recently, I came across the notion of quasi-isometries, while thinking of "discrete spaces which are surrogates for approximate continuous ones". What (metric)/geometric properties are ...
ABIM's user avatar
  • 5,405
3 votes
0 answers
117 views

Can a laser hit all the mirrors out of order?

For this question, a "cycle" is a sequence of distinct points $X = (x_1,x_2,\cdots,x_k)\in\mathbb{R}^3$ which defines a piecewise linear path starting at $x_1$ and visiting the points in ...
felipeh's user avatar
  • 452
4 votes
2 answers
260 views

Discrete isoperimetric problems

It is well-known that among all planar curves, the circle — invariant under $O(2)$ — has the best isoperimetric ratio. Similarly, among all $n$-gons, the regular $n$-gon — invariant under the dihedral ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 511

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