Difference between revisions of "Double Soap Bubble"
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| − | The '''double bubble''', or '''double soap bubble''', [[geometry]] has long posed a fascinating mathematical challenge: which shape for the surface of a double bubble encloses [[volume]] most efficiently? | + | The '''double [[bubble]]''', or '''double soap bubble''', [[geometry]] has long posed a fascinating mathematical challenge: which shape for the surface of a double bubble encloses [[volume]] most efficiently? |
When a double soap bubble forms, it consists of two spheres that intersect, with a soap film separating the chambers on each side. This separating wall connects with the surface of each sphere at a 120-degree angle. If the two spheres have equal size, then the separating film has the shape of a flat disk. If one sphere is larger, then the separating wall bulges into the larger space enclosed by the larger sphere. | When a double soap bubble forms, it consists of two spheres that intersect, with a soap film separating the chambers on each side. This separating wall connects with the surface of each sphere at a 120-degree angle. If the two spheres have equal size, then the separating film has the shape of a flat disk. If one sphere is larger, then the separating wall bulges into the larger space enclosed by the larger sphere. | ||
Revision as of 10:16, August 7, 2014
The double bubble, or double soap bubble, geometry has long posed a fascinating mathematical challenge: which shape for the surface of a double bubble encloses volume most efficiently?
When a double soap bubble forms, it consists of two spheres that intersect, with a soap film separating the chambers on each side. This separating wall connects with the surface of each sphere at a 120-degree angle. If the two spheres have equal size, then the separating film has the shape of a flat disk. If one sphere is larger, then the separating wall bulges into the larger space enclosed by the larger sphere.
The question of which geometric shape for a co-equal double bubbles maximizes the internal volume baffled mathematicians for decades until it was finally solved in 2002. [1]