Question

Anyone know any problems that are "easy to understand but impossible to solve"? Like Goldbach's conjecture or Fermat's last theorem for instance.

Answer 1

You may have tried this but have you googled "unsolved theorems?"

Answer 2

Also, FLT was solved in 1996.

Answer 3

Haha well that's true, but I didn't mean it literally. I could google up unsolved problems, but I wanted to find some that other people had come across that maybe we could try to think about and try to solve together rather than alone.

Answer 4

ya the unsolved mysteries about aliens and how the american government is trying to keep it from us

Answer 5

I've got 1 but before that u need to give me the best defination of sonic boom.

Answer 6

Haha I don't know what the best definition of a sonic boom is, I think it relates to going faster than the speed of sound and somehow creates a shockwave by displacing air or something fancy lol

Answer 7

Ok now the question is - why doesn't light create sonic booms?? ¿¿

Answer 8

light does not make sonic booms, because by definition sonic = sound

Answer 9

Got one:

Question: Five pirates are parting ways after finding a treasure of 100 pieces of gold. The pirates decide to split it based on a vote. Each pirate, from oldest to youngest, gets to propose a plan on how to split the gold.

If at least 50 percent of the other remaining pirates agree on the plan, that is how they will split the gold. If less than 50 percent of the pirates agree, the pirate who came up with the plan will be thrown overboard. Each pirate is smart, greedy, and wants to throw as many others overboard as possible without reducing the amount of gold they get.

What plan can the first (oldest) pirate propose to live and get as much gold as possible?

Answer 10

instead light's version is redshift

Answer 11

I didn't get that @nincompoop

Answer 12

ya don't focus on the redshift LAUGHING OUT LOUD but sonic = sound

Answer 13

oooh good questions @hhopke and @imqwerty and... hahaha you too @Astrophysics :'(

Answer 14

I've got 1 more wait

Answer 15

do not focus on the word use, but instead on the mechanism
doppler effect is a characteristic that both sound and light produce. less focus on the word, but more on mechanics and equation

Answer 16

I am looking in my differential equations book since I remember shockwaves came about from solving with the method of characteristics or something.

Answer 17

there are some phenomenon that the english language or other language cannot describe properly

Answer 18

yeah like things that aren't particles or waves... :P

Answer 19

laughing out loud

Answer 20

I think i must learn about redshifts nd ol nd then come here to debate.

Answer 21

qwerty made a uniform spherical magnet. Where are the poles of that magnet located??

Answer 22

use ferromagnetic metal

Answer 23

metal sheet

Answer 24

magnetism ftw

Answer 25

hahaha the poles are on the outside and center?

Answer 26

isn't this what gauss proved?

Answer 27

Prove that u can make an A4 size paper reach mounteverset's top with one end of the paper touching the groung nd the other end at the top. U can tear the paper.

Answer 28

well, tear a piece, leave it on the ground, then take the other piece to the top of the mountain lol.

Answer 29

Well played...

Answer 30

U can't tear the paper nt even a bit

Answer 31

Nd the mounteverset is the real mounteverset nd nt a plastic toy or drawing.

Answer 32

Ik the answer to this one :)

Answer 33

can we use magnetic flux on that sphere magnet pole problem?

Answer 34

U need to prove your answer theoretically

Answer 35

Wait- do they have to be on the ground and at the top at the same time?

Answer 36

Could we use tesseracts? Like from a wrinkle in time?

Answer 37

Ooooh explain that that sounds cool

Answer 38

I was just going to do something like cut the paper like this:

Answer 39

no cutting nor tearing

Answer 40

ok ok crap

Answer 41

use tangent ratio

Answer 42

Well technically the top of mount everest is the ground at that point... XD