Category Archives: Math

Q: How was the number π first discovered? How did we first figure out it was 3.14…?

Posted on August 24, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: Unfortunately, the use of the number π is older than recorded history so… who knows?  But the use of π at the beginning of recorded history wasn’t too sophisticated, so we can make guesses. π is the ratio of … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Engineering, Geometry, Math | 10 Comments

Q: Given two points on the globe, how do you figure out the direction and distance to each other?

Posted on July 20, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: The very short answer is: use the spherical law of cosines so you can do trigonometry on a sphere. This is a seriously old problem that needed to be solved before we became a routinely globe-trotting species.  If you … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Geometry, Math | 9 Comments

Q: Is it possible to eat all of the ice cream in a bowl?

Posted on July 2, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: If you’ve ever sat next to someone as they rang an almost-empty ice cream bowl like church bells on Sunday, then you’ve probably asked yourself some variation of this question. Clearly, the issue is that a spoon and a … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Geometry, Philosophical | 11 Comments

Q: Why does gravity pull things toward the center of mass? What’s so special about the center of mass?

Posted on June 12, 2018 by The Physicist

The original question was: How do you measure d in the equation for universal gravitation ()?  It can’t be the distance between the surfaces of the objects, or when they touched f would be “infinite.”  It can’t be the distance … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Equations, Philosophical, Physics | 30 Comments

Q: What is the most complicated equation?

Posted on May 2, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: If you have plenty of chalkboard space and absolutely nothing better to do, you can write down numbers, letters (Greek if you’re δυσάρεστος), and mathematical operators and eventually you’ll have the longest equation ever written down.  So if you … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Equations, Math, Physics | 80 Comments

Q: If you double your bet every time you lose, won’t you eventually win and come out ahead?

Posted on April 7, 2018 by The Physicist

Physicist: Yes, but… There are good reasons why casinos make money and “how to gamble” books are longer than two sentences.  According to the law of large numbers, if you’re likely to lose a little bit of money in a … Continue reading →

Posted in -- By the Physicist, Math, Probability | 3 Comments