Talking to people who use maths in their work. Aiming to encourage further uptake of maths at A-level and beyond. Brought to you by the Further Maths Support Programme. The FMSP supports students and teachers in England with mathematics, and you can find out more at furthermaths.org.uk. Hosts: Peter Rowlett and Katie Steckles.


Friday 24 October 2014

Episode 8: Packing Shapes and graphene

This week the topic was the most efficient way to pack shapes in 2D and 3D space. We interviewed Jacek Wychowaniec, who’s a scientist studying applications of materials science to biology. We talked about how he uses many different types of maths in his work, and how he’s been developing substances which can be used to help regrow damaged nerves.

Interesting links:

Puzzle: If you pack circles onto a surface using a square arrangement (each circle is sitting in one section of a square grid and they all touch), what percentage of the surface is covered by squares? How much of the surface is covered if you pack the circles on a grid of hexagons?

Solution:

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