There is a perfect sphere of diameter 100 cms. resting up against a perfectly straight wall and a perfectly straight floor.
What is the diameter of the largest sphere that can pass through the gap between the wall, floor and the sphere ?

The distance from the center of the sphere to the corner where the walls meet (assuming they're perpendicular) is 50√2. Draw the square whose diagonal is the distance from the closest point on the sphere to the corner. The length of this diagonal is 50√2 - 50. The diameter of the sphere that will fit in this little space is not the DIAGONAL of that square, but the side, no? This is (50√2 - 50)/√2. Which is about 14.64.

Posted by Lug on 2003-10-14 14:00:44