Overhang

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dc.creatorPaterson, Mike
dc.creatorZwick, Uri
dc.date2007-10-12
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T08:35:55Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T08:35:55Z
dc.descriptionHow far off the edge of the table can we reach by stacking $n$ identical, homogeneous, frictionless blocks of length 1? A classical solution achieves an overhang of $1/2 H_n$, where $H_n ~ \ln n$ is the $n$th harmonic number. This solution is widely believed to be optimal. We show, however, that it is, in fact, exponentially far from optimality by constructing simple $n$-block stacks that achieve an overhang of $c n^{1/3}$, for some constant $c>0$.
dc.description27 pages, 24 figures. To appear in American Mathematical Monthly
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0710.2357
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0710.2357
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/139902
dc.subjectHistory and Overview
dc.subjectMathematical Physics
dc.subjectCombinatorics
dc.subject70C20; 97A20
dc.titleOverhang
dc.typetext

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