Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander, Jr.
Office: 607-255-3290
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Robert Connelly, professor of mathematics, will present the Cornell University Mathematics Department's annual Math Awareness Month lecture, "How to Unfold a Carpenter's Rule in the Plane," April 28 at 2 p.m. in 251 Malott Hall on campus. The lecture is free and is open to the public.
Connelly will explain that carpenters often use a wooden ruler made of rigid sections hinged at their ends. Imagine such a ruler placed in the plane without any crossings, but with many turns and wiggles. Can it be continuously opened in the plane, without crossing over itself? Connelly will show that any such carpenter's rule can be continuously moved so that it becomes straight without crossing itself during the motion.
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