Related papers: Things to do with a broken stick
We consider the periodic Manhattan lattice with alternating orientations going north-south and east-west. Place obstructions on vertices independently with probability $0<p<1$. A particle is moving on the edges with unit speed following the…
A triangulation of a punctured or pinched surface is irreducible if no edge can be shrunk without producing multiple edges or changing the topological type of the surface. The finiteness of the set of (non-isomorphic) irreducible…
We establish a sharp inequality between the blocks of positive partitioned matrices and conjecture a triangle type inequality for contractions: Given three contactions A,B,C, we conjecture that the constant c=3/4 is sharp in the triangle…
In the "classical" adventitious angle problem, for a given set of three angles $a$, $b$, and $c$ measured in integral degrees in an isosceles triangle, a fourth angle $\theta$ (the derived angle), also measured in integral degrees, is…
We consider the probability of knotting in equilateral random polygons in Euclidean 3-dimensional space, which model, for instance, random polymers. Results from an extensive Monte Carlo dataset of random polygons indicate a universal…
We first introduce a configuration of arbitrary isogonal conjugates related to a known property concerning the spiral center of two pairs of isogonal conjugates. We then consider a special case where two conics are tangent at exactly two…
The uncertainty principle is considered to be one of the most striking features in quantum mechanics. In the textbook literature, uncertainty relations usually refer to the preparation uncertainty which imposes a limitation on the spread of…
A distinction is sometimes made between "statistical" and "subjective" probabilities. This is based on a distinction between "unique" events and "repeatable" events. We argue that this distinction is untenable, since all events are "unique"…
We study sequences of partitions of the unit interval into subintervals, starting from the trivial partition, in which each partition is obtained from the one before by splitting its subintervals in two, according to a given rule, and then…
We present a, hopefully, elementary mathematical treatment of the computational aspects of congruent numbers, such that an amateur could understand the problem and perform their own calculations.
We consider the problem of finding integer-sided triangles with R/r an integer, where R and r are the radii of the circumcircle and incircle respectively. We show that such triangles are relatively rare.
J. J. Sylvester's four-point problem asks for the probability that four points chosen uniformly at random in the plane have a triangle as their convex hull. Using a combinatorial classification of points in the plane due to Goodman and…
We calculate moments of the so-called Kesten distribution by means of the expansion of the denominator of the density of this distribution and then integrate all summands with respect to the semicircle distribution. By comparing this…
The stick number of a knot is the minimum number of segments needed to build a polygonal version of the knot. Despite its elementary definition and relevance to physical knots, the stick number is poorly understood: for most knots we only…
Discrete partially ordered sets can be turned into distance spaces in several ways. The distance functions may or may not satisfy the triangle inequality, and restriction of the distance to finite chains may or may not coincide with the…
This is a paper about triangle cubics and conics in classical geometry with elements of projective geometry. In recent years, N.J. Wildberger has actively dealt with this topic using an algebraic perspective. Triangle conics were also…
We establish a relationship between the two important central lines of the triangle, the Euler line and the Brocard axis, in a configuration with an arbitrary rectangle and a random point. The classical Cartesian coordinate system method…
A fixed set of vertices in the plane may have multiple planar straight-line triangulations in which the degree of each vertex is the same. As such, the degree information does not completely determine the triangulation. We show that even if…
In the first part of this work the classical and statistical aspects of the dynamics of an inextensible chain in three dimensions are investigated. In the second part the special case of a chain admitting only fixed angles with respect to…
Three particles floating on a fluid surface define a triangle. The aim of this paper is to characterise the shape of the triangle, defined by two of its angles, as the three vertices are subject to a complex or turbulent motion. We consider…