eli5 why are most natural holes circles?
In: 6
Nature doesn’t like corners. If you are digging a hole to stay in, generally you want to be able to turn around inside it. Animals don’t want to expend energy to dig out corners that aren’t needed.
Natural forces follow the same principle. Erosion follows the path of least resistance, which leads to slopes and curves where the water continues to flow.
In the cases where you have a large amount of force, (think earthquakes or icebergs) nature will push through in whatever shape its in, leaving straighter lines.
Nature doesn’t like corners. If you are digging a hole to stay in, generally you want to be able to turn around inside it. Animals don’t want to expend energy to dig out corners that aren’t needed.
Natural forces follow the same principle. Erosion follows the path of least resistance, which leads to slopes and curves where the water continues to flow.
In the cases where you have a large amount of force, (think earthquakes or icebergs) nature will push through in whatever shape its in, leaving straighter lines.
Nature doesn’t like corners. If you are digging a hole to stay in, generally you want to be able to turn around inside it. Animals don’t want to expend energy to dig out corners that aren’t needed.
Natural forces follow the same principle. Erosion follows the path of least resistance, which leads to slopes and curves where the water continues to flow.
In the cases where you have a large amount of force, (think earthquakes or icebergs) nature will push through in whatever shape its in, leaving straighter lines.
Things in nature tend to be circular rather than angular.
If you punch a square hole in the ground, for example, the angles mean that the walls are experiencing stresses differently. Then the weakest parts of the walls keep caving in until the forces are equal, which results in a round hole.
It’s a similar principle behind bubbles being round. A cube is an “inefficient” shape, so even if you made a square bubble, the corners (which are the farthest apart from the center) would be pulled in until it popped back into a spherical shape.
Things in nature tend to be circular rather than angular.
If you punch a square hole in the ground, for example, the angles mean that the walls are experiencing stresses differently. Then the weakest parts of the walls keep caving in until the forces are equal, which results in a round hole.
It’s a similar principle behind bubbles being round. A cube is an “inefficient” shape, so even if you made a square bubble, the corners (which are the farthest apart from the center) would be pulled in until it popped back into a spherical shape.
Things in nature tend to be circular rather than angular.
If you punch a square hole in the ground, for example, the angles mean that the walls are experiencing stresses differently. Then the weakest parts of the walls keep caving in until the forces are equal, which results in a round hole.
It’s a similar principle behind bubbles being round. A cube is an “inefficient” shape, so even if you made a square bubble, the corners (which are the farthest apart from the center) would be pulled in until it popped back into a spherical shape.
What you want from a hole is area…you want to pass through something. You want maximum area for the most useful hole. But it takes energy to make a hole and energy is hard to come by…you want to expend as little of that to get as big a hole as you need. The energy to *make* a hole corresponds to how much you have to cut, which is basically the perimeter (length) of the edge of the hole.
So you want the maximum ratio of area to circumference. The shape that does that is…a circle. Any other hole shape takes more energy for the same area so anybody that tries that is at a disadvantage to any process that uses circles.
What you want from a hole is area…you want to pass through something. You want maximum area for the most useful hole. But it takes energy to make a hole and energy is hard to come by…you want to expend as little of that to get as big a hole as you need. The energy to *make* a hole corresponds to how much you have to cut, which is basically the perimeter (length) of the edge of the hole.
So you want the maximum ratio of area to circumference. The shape that does that is…a circle. Any other hole shape takes more energy for the same area so anybody that tries that is at a disadvantage to any process that uses circles.
What you want from a hole is area…you want to pass through something. You want maximum area for the most useful hole. But it takes energy to make a hole and energy is hard to come by…you want to expend as little of that to get as big a hole as you need. The energy to *make* a hole corresponds to how much you have to cut, which is basically the perimeter (length) of the edge of the hole.
So you want the maximum ratio of area to circumference. The shape that does that is…a circle. Any other hole shape takes more energy for the same area so anybody that tries that is at a disadvantage to any process that uses circles.
Latest Answers