Why are bubbles spherical and honeycombs hexagonal in shape?
First things first. We all love to blow up bubbles and why shouldn't we? But what excites us is not the bubble and nor its path, but its circular shape. I mean they are so satisfyingly spherical. But have you ever wondered that why bubbles are spherical only? I mean they could have been any 3D shape; a pyramid, a cuboid, etc. Then why spherical? Let's see...
Why are bubbles spherical in shape?
Amongst all 3D and 2D shapes, sphere and circle have the least volumes and surface areas. To understand this sentence, let's take an example. Let's say you have a circle and a square of 1cm diameter and side respectively. According to the formulas for their areas which are πr² and (side)² respectively, the area of circle will be 0.78539...cm² and that of square will be 1cm². Now be it any other shape with 1cm side, its area won't be less than 0.78539...cm². Now you might have understood that circle has the least area than any other 2D shape. Similarly, spheres also have the least volumes (You might check it on your own).
Thus to make the least contact with the outside air and to minimize the force and pressure acting on the bubble, the bubbles aquire a circular shape. The similar phenomenon is seen when oil is poured in water. The oil is in a spherical shape until it forms a layer.
Hope you guys learnt something new. And feel free to ask any queries...
Thus to make the least contact with the outside air and to minimize the force and pressure acting on the bubble, the bubbles aquire a circular shape. The similar phenomenon is seen when oil is poured in water. The oil is in a spherical shape until it forms a layer.
Why are honeycombs hexagonal in shape?
The opposite for a sphere is a regular octahedron (a 3D hexagon in simple words). Hexagons and octahedrons have the maximum volume and surface area. Thus they can store more things in less space due to more volume. So honeybees are intelligent enough. They make their combs hexagonal (which is actually a octahedron) to store maximum honey and resin in limited place.Hope you guys learnt something new. And feel free to ask any queries...
Posts before October 2021 have been marked as "Old Posts". Less likely, but they might have out dated or incorrect information, ugly looking bits of code, no labels, etc. Don't get me wrong, many of these posts are top-notch and interesting too.
I thought it would be better not to delete or revamp these posts, even if they suck. The bitter truth is that old works always suck, but I take that as a positive tool to convey that I am growing. Besides there's no better way to showcase my journey without these old, messy, poorly written posts!
I thought it would be better not to delete or revamp these posts, even if they suck. The bitter truth is that old works always suck, but I take that as a positive tool to convey that I am growing. Besides there's no better way to showcase my journey without these old, messy, poorly written posts!
Old Post