Re: [HM] Cubed Cubes

Ed Sandifer (SANDIFER@WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU)
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 15:06:28 -0400

In van Lint & Wilson's "A Course in Combinatorics", page 460, they make the
following citations at the end of their chapter "Electrical networks and
squared squares:

W.T. Tutte (1961), Squaring the Square, in: M. Gardner, "The 2nd Scientific
American Book of Matheamtical Puzzles and Diversions", Simon and Schuster.

W.T. Tutte (1965), The quest of the perfect square, Amer. Math. Monthly 72, No.
2, 29-35.

Sam, I would guess that Scientific American is the original source, but I can't
check.
The van Lint & Wilson chapter on squared squares is quite entertaining
and informative in its own right. It makes the suggestion that squared squares
even have practical applications! I recommend the book.

Ed Sandifer

--------------

Samuel S. Kutler wrote:

>The smallest squared square consists of a square disected into 21 squares
>all different.. It was to my amazement that there can be no cubed cube. I
>know the proof of Tutte, which is very beautiful. But where and when did
>he publish it?