Mathematician Solves Centuries-Old Grazing Goat Problem Exactly
Mathematicians have long pondered the reach of a grazing goat tied to a fence, only finding approximate answers until now.
Hasnain says:
This was an engaging read, though I wish they’d put the equation in the article to avoid having to find the solution on Wikipedia.
“Complex analysis has been around for centuries, but as far as Ullisch knows, he was the first to apply this approach to hungry goats.
With this strategy, he was able to transform his transcendental equation into an equivalent expression for the length of rope that would let the goat graze in half the enclosure. In other words, he finally answered the question with a precise mathematical formulation.”
Posted on 2020-12-11T04:09:23+0000