Further thoughts on M&Ms
After writing my last entry I did some math to come to some sort of conclusion. I won't bore you all with the equations, but it turns the maximum amount of area one circle can take up in a square is the same as four circles taking up maximum area in the same square. Therefore it doesn't really matter what size they are. Of course I'm discounting the fact that M&Ms are 3 dimensional and oval shaped. I think Jackie's right though, that the best would be a combo of big and mini M&Ms, assuming the mini M&Ms can fit in the big M&Ms' spaces. Happily, I was able to satisfy my craving Friday morning with a bag of normal M&Ms from 7-11.
This past weekend I came down with what was probably a sinus infection. I was visiting my cousins and not able to enjoy the bread my cousin's wife made for dinner Friday night as much as last time because the infection had reached down into my back teeth making them very sore. My other cousin let me sleep in her bed that night (thanks Maureen!) and I woke up with a completely dry mouth. I think I slept on my back and breathed heavily through my mouth all night because it took numerous tries of creating saliva to get it back to normal. Thankfully, I'm feeling better, but my teeth still hurt and I just had some trouble eating triscuits a few minutes ago.
In good news over the weekend, Rina and Mordy had a baby girl! Congratulations! You know you come from a good area when the first baby born to someone from your graduating class (especially a class that had a bad reputation) is born in wedlock. Rock on Gunn High.
*Spell check amusement: The first suggestion for "Jackie's" was jackass.
posted by Jane @ 10:45 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I see that Blogger knows me a bit too well... :-P
Gee, that math is rather obvious...however I don't think small M&Ms combined with big M&Ms will make for greater surface area coverage in a square...
Actually, the math's pretty hard, due to the odd shape of M&M's. Since my tiny little brain can't handle such math, I emailed one of those math help site thingies, and their response was this:
To start off, probably the easiest way to measure the volume of the
M&M's would be by displacement (Archimedes style). Assuming the volume of
each is proportional to the others, you would only need a reading for one
of the sizes.
As for the rest of your question, calculating this could prove to be very
difficult.
There is actually an entire segment of mathematics known as 'circle
packing' which addresses similar questions. Circle packing applies more to
two-dimensional endeavors, however, with honeycomb-like arrangements
proving the best.
Besides being an easier volume to calculate were they spheres, the best way
to package these M&M's would also be far simpler. This is because of a
field known as 'sphere packing,' which does in fact conjecture (to relative
certainty, depending on your stance) a 'best' way to pack spheres.
You can find out more about these two sections of math here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_packing
As for your original question, personal research would probably prove the
most rewarding (in more than one way!).
Anyway, get better fast Jane, and congrats to Rina! :)
I love that actually researched this. that's hilarious.
Haha, wow, I don't remember the class of 2000 having a bad reputation... ^^
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