Length compaction in 2-dimensional Space Mark Molloy Department of Electrical Engineering, University of South Florida 4202 E. Fowler Ave.

, Tampa, FL 33620 Abstract From a macroscopic perspective, infinite subdivisions of a half-circle appear to compact that half-circle onto its diameter. Mathematically the half-circle retains its full length, but physically, the compacted half-circle appears to be traversable by the same distance that it would take to traverse the diameter. Discussion Figure 1 shows a half-circle with arc length s =
1 ( 2 r1 ) = r1 . 2

r1

Figure 1
In Figure 2, that same half-circle has been compacted by 2 successive iterations. For the first iteration,
1 r2 = r1 , 2

so that

s =

r1 r r + 1 = 2 1 . 2 2 2

Figure 2

For the second iteration, r1 r r r r + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 1 . 4 4 4 4 4

s =

In general, for a large number of subdivisions,

big r s = 2n 1n , 2 n =0

where 2n represents the number of humps in the compaction. Figure 3 shows 16 humps.

Figure 3

Since n can be increased arbitrarily, the number of humps can get very very big, while the size of those humps can get very very small. So a big n would effectively compact the half-circle onto its diameter.
Conclusion

The arc length of a half-circle can be infinitely subdivided so that in a physical sense, the half-circle appears to have the same length as its diameter. The extra length is still there of course, but from a practical point of view it has vanished into a realm where mathematical abstraction outdistances physical reality.