The first thing I must do is make clear that I am not an emergency evacuation practitioner, but rather a researcher who has done work on emergency evacuation problems.
Pointillism is a painting technique in which the painter does nothing but place dots of paint on the canvas. Up close, a pointillist painting can appear to be completely abstract, a mass of dots. But from afar, the dots can wondrously merge into a...
Introduction Have you ever noticed that at parties, wedding receptions, and class reunions, people tend to hang out with the people whom they already know rather than to mingle with everyone else? Not surprisingly, faculty have this same problem in...
Abstract We present two applications of systems of ordinary differential equations concerning excitation of a structure through resonance and we investigate peak-frequency responses and stabilization by means of a tuned mass damper (TMD). The physics,...
The purpose of this article is to present an example of the usefulness of trigonometry and linear algebra to solve a practical problem. We consider the problem of cutting panels used to form an angular counter such as the one shown in Figure 1.
Introduction We explain the underlying mathematics and physics of two medical imaging techniques: • computed tomography (CT), and • Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). The analysis constitutes an interesting application of Fourier...
In Moore and Moore [19901, we gave exercises (Exercises 1, 7, and 8) that ask the reader to find the dihedral angle formed by adjacent sides of a right pyramid whose base is a regular polygon-a square, a triangle, and a hexagon, respectively.
Introduction When I go to the store to buy something, I usually buy two of whatever it is, whether it is a jar of mayonnaise, a gallon of milk, or a pair of socks. My main motivations are to avoid running out of the item and, over the long run, to cut...
Introduction The puzzle No. Crunch was made by Binary Arts, which company changed its name to ThinkFun and produced the puzzle under the name TopSpin (but the puzzle is no longer listed at ThinkFun'sWeb site [2009]). The puzzle (Figure 1) contains 20...
Like many mathematicians, I belong to a number of professional societies and subscribe to lots of their journals and other magazines. Here I apply mathematics to the decisions about renewals, continuing the agenda begun in Campbell [2008] of applying...
Nomography, truly a forgotten art, is the graphical representation of mathematical relationshipsor laws (the Greekwordfor law is nomos). These graphs are variously called nomograms (the term used here), nomographs, alignment charts, and abacs. This...
The game Klappenspiel (flipping game) is a traditional German game of flipping tiles according to dice rolls. In this paper, we derive the optimal strategy for this game by using dynamic programming. We show that the probability of winning using the...
Financing describes a method of raising funds or capital. Many people finance an asset and pay for it in installments, as opposed to paying a sum up front. The cost of financing is the interest expense imposed by banks. This cost motivates people to...
Introduction to Pig The object of the jeopardy dice game Pig is to be the first player to reach 100 points. Each turn, a player repeatedly rolls a die until either a 1 is rolled or the player holds and scores the sum of the rolls (i.e., the turn...
Introduction Wood performs many important ecosystem functions in streams, such as encouraging scour of pools and backwater habitat, entrapping leaves and other organic matter, creating overhead cover and habitat complexity for fish, and providing a...
Introduction For many years my family and I have enjoyed outdoor classic theatre at American Players Theatre (APT) in Spring Green, WI, located just under 100 miles from where we live. We usually picnic on the grounds, attend the play, and return by...
This paper describes procedures that are used to analyze proposals that arise in the acquisition of military systems by the Department of Defense, a scenario that involves elements of both conflict and cooperation. Current practices lead to...
ABSTRACT. The network television game involves three players, with each player trying to maximize his share of the market. An example is developed that illustrates how game theory can be applied to determine optimal competitive choices, given the...
In October, 1977, the respected Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers was startled to receive a cryptic warning that it was about to violate a federal law against international traffic in arms.
To paraphrase Sigmund Freud, What do physicists want? It takes no psychoanalysis to figure out what teachers of the introductory course in physics want. They want students with experience and skills in quantitative methods. These skills are generally...