The Pursuit of Perfect Packing
Institute of Physics Publishing
1st Edition
Published on 1. January 2000
Book
Hardback
136 pages
978-0-7503-0648-5 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
In 1998 Thomas Hales dramatically announced the solution of a problem that has long teased eminent mathematicians: what is the densest possible arrangement of identical spheres? The Pursuit of Perfect Packing recounts the story of this problem and many others that have to do with packing things together. The examples are taken from mathematics, physics, biology, and engineering, including the arrangement of soap bubbles in foam, atoms in a crystal, the architecture of the bee's honeycomb, and the structure of the Giant's Causeway. Using an informal style and with key references, the book also includes brief accounts of the lives of many of the scientists who devoted themselves to problems of packing over many centuries, together with wry comments on their efforts. It is an entertaining introduction to the field for both specialists and the more general public.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Mathematicians, physicists, engineers, chemists, and biologists interested in problems of packing.
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 216 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7503-0648-5 (9780750306485)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Denis Weaire | Tomaso Aste
The Pursuit of Perfect Packing
Book
03/2008
2nd Edition
CRC Press
€267.66
Article not available at the moment
Persons
Author
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Content
How many sweets in the jar? Loose change and tight packing. Hard problems with hard spheres. Proof positive? Peas and pips. Enthusiastic admiration: the honeycomb. Toils and troubles with bubbles. The architecture of the world of atoms. Apollonius and concrete. The Giant's Causeway. Soccer balls, golfballs and buckyballs. Packings and kisses in high dimensions. Odds and ends. Conclusion. Index.