The Universal Reward?

Far more photogenic than than fat old man with the overflowing bathtub.

Noddy, What th? Are you talking displacement?

Eureka! Letty. You have found it.

You do realize, do you not, that M&M's were the candy of choice in ET, the movie, but the company wouldn't go with it, so they used Reese's Pieces to attract the critter.

And then, of course, there's eminem who is barely better than a fat man in a bathtub.

Wouldn't it be nice if they would use M&M's as packing stuff instead of styrofoam popcorn?

Letty, All you have to do is expand M&Ms to fill a minimum density per cubic volume. Then what would their shape be .

Delicious---

Hey akamech. Expand to fill a minimum density..a square? Now that's a wild guess, cause Letty don't no nuttin about math or science without looking it up.

I'm sorry, I feel a little confused. I fail to grasp the importance of this "discovery." First of all, isn't it obvious the would pack tighter? Secondly if they were flat, wouldn't they pack tighter still? What are the applications of this? Am I missing something?

SCoates. The only reason that I posted this thread was to try and discover, discovery.

I am not a scientist--nor a mathematician. I have never been. Actually, my friend, there is such a world of difference between the poet and the scientist, that reconciliation may well be impossible, but we still are bound together in a strange way.

I will continue to believe in things unseen...

WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND ?
BY: CHRISTINA ROSSETTI



Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing thro'


Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by.

No, this does not answer your question, but I do hope that you gain some unexplainable "proofs".

Why does this whole M&M thing remind me of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and Ice-9?

And why does this entire thing remind me of:

Cat's in the Cradle
by Harry Chapin (lyrics by Sandra Chapin).
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Description: Originally found on album Verities & Balderdash, 1974; Greatest Stories Live, 1975; Anthology of Harry Chapin, 1985; the Gold Medal Collection, 1988; and the Bottom Line Encore Series, 1998; and Story of a Life, 1999.


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My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

Hello, Andrew. Where have you been?

Letty,
The only reason I answered is that I had never thought of the fact that an aggregate of oblate spherical shapes would weigh more per gross volume than round ones.

This may be the reason that a concrete mix using gravel is usually considered superior to one using crushed stone. The oblate shape of gravel would allow more stone (stronger) in the mix with mortar (weaker) in the foundations of your dream house.

Also the "M&M" shape would use more sugar per pound of chocolate than a round shape would. This would affect the taste of the finished product. Or if I was a cynic I would remark on the relative prices of sugar vs chocolate on manufacturing costs.

So you and I have made discovered a discovery of sorts. Poetic isn't it

Lost my repost in poetry to your study in science. Promise I will recall it and we can combine osmium and Whitman..

Shall we dance, Aka?

Letty, I hope to be sailing in your neighborhood about Mar 2005. I am sure that we would be able to dance the music of the spheres then :wink:


Perhaps to some obloids, too

Letty, the usefulness of M&M's becomes ever more understood. Science can be delicious. Chocolate and sugar are an unbeatable combination. M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hand. My God, M&M's are the world's salvation!!!!

That's my technical and scientific take on your article.

Hope I'm there when you and akaMechsmith dance to the music of the spheres or the music of the oblates. LOL

If there are numerious different minerals in the crushed rock, it appears to me the space between the pieces could be less than 1% if you agitate the random sizes, angles and shapes sufficiently, while about 2% is minimum for oblate and 3% for spheres. Further the crushed rock would have more surface area to bind with the portland cement and sand granuals. Are you sure crushed rock doesn't make stronger concrete? Neil

I'm confused again. How can you say that spherical objects takes up a certain percent of the volume of a container. To me it seems that size is relative. that smaller spheres would take up a larger percentage than larger spheres. IS that line of reasoning incorrect?

Oh, my... I've done the math, and I am incorrect. I am so confused. So it takes up more room to have some large spheres and some small spheres, than to have all large or all small. That just seems too weird.

Goodnight, you delightful people. Too brain tired to do the tango tonight to the M&M waltz.

From Florida--

Neil,

It seems that there are at least two factors.

IF the crushed rock is limestone (in our area the alternative to gravel, which is scarce) the concrete must necessarily be softer since gravel is usually composed of metamorphic stones that have already been sorted and the softer materials eroded out it allegedly making a better concrete.

The extra rocks in the mix due to the normal oblate shapes of gravel is just icing on the cake.

For practical purposes there isn't too much difference in foundations unless somebody starts to skimp.

This summer I expect to repair a foundation which failed after sixteen years. It is a crushed stone filled one and I suspect that a gravel based one may have held up. However there were other shortcuts taken on the job which may indicate an unhealthy degree of collusion between the contractor that built it and the government engineers that "supervised" the job.
Or perhaps a simple aggregation of stupidity was responsible. You know that I am not overly fond of conspiracy theories when cupidity and stupidity theories can answer as well.

How far we stray from M&Ms How sweet it is Mech