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On Plateau's Problem
Student-Run Geometry/Topology Seminar| Speaker: | Matt Rathbun, UC Davis |
| Location: | 593 Kerr |
| Start time: | Thu, Aug 25 2005, 1:10PM |
I will be talking about the classical Plateau's Problem. Plateau was a physicist who did experiments with soap and wire loops. His work suggested that the soapfilms on closed loops of wire were stable with respect to area, i.e. small deformations caused area of the surfaces to increase. Mathematicians soon formalized this. But an open question remained: Given any "wire loop," could a "soapfilm" be formed? I will be presenting on Rado's specific solution.