Do you have a little math in your pocket? Senior Stacee King will discuss whether or not Knot Theory applies to those tangled headphones we're always fighting with.
Math 450 Senior Seminar presents
"Tangled Headphones:
Knot Theory or Not?"
by Stacee King
Tuesday, October 29
3:05 - 3:55 p.m.
in Patterson 324
Abstract: Every day we try to untangle our headphones, and every day we get frustrated that our headphones are tied in knots. But there is something that could help: KNOT THEORY. Knot Theory is the study of knots and their properties. We can accurately describe a knot by its embedded image in 2- or 3-space, as well as whether it can or cannot be undone. We can determine if two knots are isomorphic by looking at both their representations in 2- and 3-space as well as looking at each knot’s related Alexander Polynomial. Most importantly for all of our headphone problems, we can also describe some “moves” that would help us to unknot (or simplify) a knot. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Photo: Robert S. Donovan, Flickr
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