How to fix a Wobbly Table
Here is a good one. Everybody has at one time or another been in a restaurant and sat at a wobbly table. You may even be a food server and have some of your tables that are wobbly. Well here is one for you and maybe it will bring a bigger tip.
Scientific American is reporting a mathematical proof that fixing a wobbly table is as simple as rotating the table. At some point in the rotation all 4 legs will be on a solid surface simultaneously i.e. no wobble. There is even a video at the report that illustrates the proof. Of course all this analysis assumes the floor is irregular, not that the table is built wrong. Even mathematicians have to obey, “Measure twice, cut once” laws.
Of course they point out the surface that the table rests on has to be reasonably smooth….. but remember these are mathematicians. I don’t plan on eating on the side of a mountain or with a leg over the edge of a cliff any time soon.
So the next time you get a wobbly table don’t whip out the folded table napkin, just rotate table and remember sometimes math comes in handy.
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Posted: January 26th, 2007 under General.
Tags: sciam