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Optimal transportation net

Hosted by OSOS , contributed by Marinobis on 11 July 2019

Find the best way to go from place to other places place in order to : deliver, put tunnels, irrigation net, short means and more ecological.

Subjects:

- Geography

- Mathematics: measures, geometry, scales, combinatorics, algorithmics, graph theory, informatics, optimization.

- Computer science: algorithmic, coding.

- Physics: surface tension, water properties, soap elasticity, 

- Chemistry: soap molecules,

Technology: model production.

Science: minimal surfaces in biology (DNA, cells, ...)

 

Learning Objectives
Surface tension of a liquid, feature of bubbles, physical principle of bubble spread. Educate students about environmental issues. Allow students to work in groups Promote science in the school

The project addresses the problem of building a net connecting different places (travel, railways, short tunnels, irrigation pipes, …).

We ask to find the optimal (in space and time) and ecological solutions to do that.

-Put the students into situation: Give them maps and let them find a solution by themselves first by doing measures.
-Numerate some solutions.
-Search for an automatic solution (computer or some thing else).
-Observe the behavior of soap bubbles.
-Deduce a solution.

Create a model of your neighborhood or the given area as it is illustrated in the images below.

Create a soap solution by dilution of some quantity of soap in a basin.

Put the model ine the soap basin and remove it. a soap film appears betwin the 2 layers of the model. This film will connect the different points on the map.

The length of the film is optimal since the soap has an elastic property and get always the minimal position. The solution is not unique.

Student can compare after that the minimal  solution among the optmal solutions.

Images taken for the website: https://fr.science-questions.org/experiences/79/Optimiser_les_transports_avec_un_film_de_savon/pics_o/Plaques_empilees.jpg

-Competitions (local, academic, regional and national).
-Open doors events.
-Social nets.
-Peer to peer activities