Calculating the way three things orbit each other is notoriously tricky — but a new study may reveal 12,000 new ways to make it work.

Mathematicians find 12,000 new solutions to ‘unsolvable’ 3-body problem::Calculating the way three things orbit each other is notoriously tricky, but a new study may reveal 12,000 new solutions.

    • frezik@midwest.socialEnglish
      6·
      9 months ago

      You can simulate a specific arrangement of n-bodies, where n > 2. Depending on how accurate you want it to be, you may need a supercomputer.

      If n = 2, then you can work it out on a napkin. If n = 1, you can draw a circle, point at it, and say “I figured it out!”

    • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      9 months ago

      So they mean there’s no general solution. That doesn’t mean that we can’t find specific solutions.

      As for your notion of solved, that’s solved in a numerical sense.