Packing Infinite Space
Many of these problems, when the container size is increased in all directions, become equivalent to the problem of packing objects as densely as possible in infinite Euclidean space. This problem is relevant to a number of scientific disciplines, and has received significant attention. The Kepler conjecture postulated an optimal solution for packing spheres hundreds of years before it was proven correct by Thomas Callister Hales. Many other shapes have received attention, including ellipsoids, Platonic and Archimedean solids including tetrahedra, and unequal-sphere dimers.
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Famous quotes containing the words infinite space, packing, infinite and/or space:
“I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of
infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The good husband finds method as efficient in the packing of fire-wood in a shed, or in the harvesting of fruits in the cellar, as in Peninsular campaigns or the files of the Department of State.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Mary McDonald, you giggled as you passed—
I wondered what the boy with hairy chest
Carved on the wall of his inexpensive spirit
Memorial to your infinite unrest.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“It is not through space that I must seek my dignity, but through the management of my thought. I shall have no more if I possess worlds.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)