Re: [asa] writing equations - a request

Sort of, but the connection is pretty remote.

The thrifty owners of the laundry have constructed their building in the form of an ellipsoid, and put irons at both foci. All the radiation from an instrument at one focus as it irons clothes is reflected to the other focus (by a well known property of the ellipse) & heats the other iron, which can then be used to iron other clothes. No heat is lost & no money needs to be spent in heating the irons once they've been heated up initially.

What's wrong with this picture?

(Of course an iron - whether a "mangle" or the usual household variety - isn't a mathematical point but that's not the "point" here.)

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Janice Matchett
  To: George Murphy ; ASA list
  Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 12:17 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] writing equations - a request

  At 11:27 AM 7/20/2006, George Murphy wrote:

    A teaser: How many know "The paradox of the Chinese laundry"?

  @ Physicists know that we don't live in a frictionless world, so does it have anything to do with a lack of friction?

  ~ Janice

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Received on Thu Jul 20 12:52:30 2006