
Optimal packing of squares in a larger square | Tangente
An optimal packing problem
You'll never arrange your boxes the same way again!


You'll never arrange your boxes the same way again!


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Cutting a given square into identical squares seems easy at first glance—and produces beautiful mosaics. But is it really that simple? What if, instead of identical squares, we require them all to be different, creating ingenious puzzles? A rich geometric world opens up…

In the 1930s, the problem of dissecting a square into smaller squares of different sizes gave rise to two conjectures by Erdős. They would be disproved by four Trinity College students who threw themselves into the research.

What better way to celebrate the new year than with some delightful mathematical properties of the number 2025? Tangente wishes all its readers a wonderful 2025.

Let's not break with our start-of-year tradition and explore together a few charming quirks of the new vintage!
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