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Stealthtercel
Stealthtercel Reader
5/31/11 7:18 p.m.

One of the main things we do in this house is write math textbooks. Today we need something kind of unusual: reasons why people in the workplace would need/want to know the surface area of a sphere. Big, small, doesn't matter.

I can think of lots of reasons to know the diameter or the volume of a sphere, but the surface-area thing has me somewhat stumped.

I figure a vast storehouse of knowledge like the GRM community contains the answers I need. (In this case, AFAIK, the answer is NOT Miata, P71, or Wartburg.)

So: anybody out there work with spheres??

Grtechguy
Grtechguy SuperDork
5/31/11 7:22 p.m.

well, the head lights on a miata are spherical....

But, vinyl covering of a sphere would be a reason....think screen printing a globe

MrJoshua
MrJoshua SuperDork
5/31/11 7:22 p.m.

To paint or coat it.

Derick Freese
Derick Freese Dork
5/31/11 7:27 p.m.

Friction in a fully captured bearing?

mtn
mtn SuperDork
5/31/11 7:28 p.m.
  • How much leather and stitching is needed for a baseball.
  • How many dimples can you fit on a golf ball (more dimples, more control)

Thats all I got

Stealthtercel
Stealthtercel Reader
5/31/11 7:35 p.m.

Keep 'em coming, guys, this is great!

T.J.
T.J. SuperDork
5/31/11 7:37 p.m.

Surface area of the planet given the circumference. Then use fractions/percentages to calculate land and water surface area.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork
5/31/11 7:44 p.m.

Knowing how long the sharpie I use to sign my fans breasts will last? (bonus - it's a percentage problem too!)

fasted58
fasted58 Reader
5/31/11 7:59 p.m.

i'm an orb fan myself

93EXCivic
93EXCivic SuperDork
5/31/11 8:01 p.m.

Ball bearings?

MitchellC
MitchellC Dork
5/31/11 8:13 p.m.

How many rust mites may have lived on the surface of that orange that you just ate (If I remember correctly, the maximum number is 2 rust mites/cm^2 for fresh fruit).

Wally
Wally GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/31/11 8:33 p.m.

If it's aimed at GED's how much of a boob must be covered to serve alcohol in your state

pete240z
pete240z SuperDork
5/31/11 8:54 p.m.

how much red paint is needed to paint those concrete balls at Target

JoeyM
JoeyM SuperDork
5/31/11 9:06 p.m.
MrJoshua wrote: To paint or coat it.

"you are building a parade float..."

( with a georgia peach, florida orange, soccer ball, etc.)

Dr. Hess
Dr. Hess SuperDork
5/31/11 9:21 p.m.

How much material do you need to make a (soccer ball assuming it is spherical, basketball, baseball, etc.)

And if you really want to get into some seriously interesting spherical maths, y0, look at the equations for celestial navigation. They all assume that all the stars are fixed on the inside of a giant sphere that you look up at.

Osterkraut
Osterkraut SuperDork
5/31/11 9:21 p.m.

Musket ball?

OnTheChip
OnTheChip New Reader
5/31/11 9:26 p.m.

I believe a sphere encloses the largest volume with the least surface area.

nderwater
nderwater Dork
5/31/11 9:56 p.m.

umm... weather balloon & hot air balloon construction? mirror geometries on disco balls?

fasted58
fasted58 Reader
5/31/11 10:27 p.m.

Jay
Jay SuperDork
6/1/11 5:00 a.m.

The holographic principle says that the maximum amount of information that can be stored in a given volume of space is proportional to the surface area that volume... I don't see how this would be of any use to someone who's not a theoretical physicist though.

Hocrest
Hocrest Reader
6/1/11 5:43 a.m.

The amount of soapy "bubble juice" required to make a bubble of 1", 3", 5"

cwh
cwh SuperDork
6/1/11 8:31 a.m.

The surface area of a sphere is 4 x pi r squared.

RossD
RossD SuperDork
6/1/11 8:40 a.m.

Surface friction calculations of a sphere in a liquid/gas?

16vCorey
16vCorey SuperDork
6/1/11 8:46 a.m.
fasted58 wrote: i'm an orb fan myself

I was thinking the same thing when I read the title. Too much Coast to Coast I guess.

foxtrapper
foxtrapper SuperDork
6/1/11 9:37 a.m.

Pressure stress.

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