NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ862234
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Sep
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0746-8342
EISSN: N/A
Maximizing the Spectacle of Water Fountains
Simoson, Andrew J.
College Mathematics Journal, v40 n4 p263-274 Sep 2009
For a given initial speed of water from a spigot or jet, what angle of the jet will maximize the visual impact of the water spray in the fountain? This paper focuses on fountains whose spigots are arranged in circular fashion, and couches the measurement of the visual impact in terms of the surface area and the volume under the fountain's natural suggested surface (i.e., the surface of revolution of any one of the streams of water about the central axis of the fountain). Pappus' two theorems involving the centroid of an arc and of an area are used as keys to answer the question. The critical angle is, in general, other than 60 degrees.
Mathematical Association of America. 1529 Eighteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-741-9415; Tel: 202-387-5200; Fax: 202-387-1208; e-mail: maahq@maa.org; Web site: http://www.maa.org/pubs/cmj.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A