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Strategic Cuts With a Cylindrical Knife

Making Solids Bounded by Cylindrical Surfaces

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Abstract

Suppose your father gives you a hollow cylindrical knife as a birthday gift, and your mother buys you a bag of potatoes. When the knife is pressed into a potato and the outer excess is removed, the interior of the knife yields a cylindrical core. By pressing the knife into a potato from several strategically chosen directions, you can construct some solids of intersection such that all faces are identical or one of two distinct shapes.

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Acknowledgement

We are thankful for summer recess when we can enjoy a free vacation in the already-explored and the yet-unexplored parts of the Math Universe, and unhindered by other obligations, we can playfully search for nuggets of treasures. We are grateful for some useful comments from Professor Roland Roeder. We thank an anonymous referee who helped us choose terminologies more appropriate for Indian readers and make the paper concise.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mathematical Sciences Indiana University-Purdue, University Indianapolis, 402 North Blackford Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Jyotirmoy Sarkar

  2. Purdue University, 11938 Cabri Lane, Fishers, IN, 46037, USA

    Rishav Bhattacharjee

Authors
  1. Rishav Bhattacharjee
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  2. Jyotirmoy Sarkar
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Rishav Bhattacharjee or Jyotirmoy Sarkar.

Additional information

Rishav Bhattacharjee is a Junior at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, studying computer science. He enjoys working out and playing with his dogs.

Jyotirmoy Sarkar is a Professor at IUPUI, researching in mathematics, probability and statistics. He enjoys reading,’ riting,’ rithmetic and R-coding. He devotes his spare times to puzzle making.

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Bhattacharjee, R., Sarkar, J. Strategic Cuts With a Cylindrical Knife. Reson 28, 293–312 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-023-1549-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-023-1549-9

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