Mathematics Program Presents
So You Want to Play Elliptic Billiards
Monday, May 9, 2022
Hegeman 204A
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Matt Kerr
Washington University-St. Louis
Then first you'll have to construct the table, which game regulations insist must pass through five given points. When you're done with that I’ll pick N<10, and to beat me you have to shoot the ball (from wherever I put it) so it returns in exactly N steps to where it started.Washington University-St. Louis
If you're not put off by a vector space of polynomials, you can make the elliptic table; and if you know how to spot a complex torus, then (with practice and foci) you can win. This is how I trap unsuspecting students into learning a bit of algebraic geometry.
Because the real title of this talk is: two theorems on conics in the plane!
For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Hegeman 204A