I love mathematics
Last night I was talking to my father-in-law about the hot water in our shower. Natalie's (my wife) parents are staying with us for a few nights and I told Dad that he should help himself to use the shower. I followed that by saying 'It takes a little while for the hot water to come through though'. Then I told him what I like to do while I'm waiting for the hot water to come through.
I like to set up a few estimates on either:
Then, I either deduce the final variable from my estimates of all the rest, or just see if all my estimates are consistent.
My estimates were that the water flow rate would be about 5 litres per minute. It usually takes about 30 secs for the water to get hot. The pipes would be about 20mm in diameter. The length of pipe from the hot water system to the shower head would be about 30m. When I did the sums, I found that I was fairly close.
This reminds me of one of Edsgar Dijkstra's papers that I read the other month about doing some mental arithmetic. I tried his challenge, but found it too difficult. I guess the water in my shower always gets hot before I'm able to solve the challenge.
I like to set up a few estimates on either:
- water flow rate
- length of pipe from shower head to hot water system
- diameter of piping
- time until water becomes hot, etc
Then, I either deduce the final variable from my estimates of all the rest, or just see if all my estimates are consistent.
My estimates were that the water flow rate would be about 5 litres per minute. It usually takes about 30 secs for the water to get hot. The pipes would be about 20mm in diameter. The length of pipe from the hot water system to the shower head would be about 30m. When I did the sums, I found that I was fairly close.
This reminds me of one of Edsgar Dijkstra's papers that I read the other month about doing some mental arithmetic. I tried his challenge, but found it too difficult. I guess the water in my shower always gets hot before I'm able to solve the challenge.
