Significant Jelly Beans重大软糖豆

A quaint little story in the Charlotte Observer [page no longer online] relates how an eight year old, Parker Garrison, spotted a simple arithmetic error in a Discovery Place exhibit that had gone unnoticed by four years of visitors, young and old, educated, and not.一古朴的小故事，在夏洛特观察员[下一页不再在线]涉及如何八年岁，帕克驻军，发现一个简单的算术错误，在发现的地方，展出了由忽略了四年的旅客，青年人和老年人，教育，不是。

The original exhibit called “原来展览的所谓“ Jelly Belly果冻肚子 Presents Candy Unwrapped” had a problem for visitors to solve.介绍了糖果unwrapped “出现了问题，为旅客解决的问题。

How many jelly beans would fit into a particular container.有多少软糖豆将融入某一货柜。

One example had a container shaped like a half pyramid and told you that a jelly bean has a volume of about 1 cubic cm.一个例子，有一个货柜，形状像一个半金字塔告诉你，一果冻豆有一个体积约1立方厘米。

The container’s base measures 46 by 23 cm and its height is 72 cm.货柜的基础措施， 46 23厘米，其高度是72厘米。

The volume of a pyramid is 1/3 x base area x height.数量金字塔是： 1 / 3 ×根据地x高度。

So, you then had to divide this by 2 since the container is half a pyramid and then multiply your answer by 0.9 to account for spaces between the jelly beans.因此，然后，您不得不鸿沟，这是由二以来，该货柜半年金字塔，然后乘以您的答案是由0.9至帐户之间的空间软糖豆。

The answer should be 22,853.答案应该是22853 。

But, that was patently wrong to young Parker who realized that the base measurements given were for half a pyramid so there was no need to divide by 2 at all.但是，这显然是错误的青年帕克谁实现了该基地的测量均给予了半个世纪的金字塔，所以没有必要再除以二，在所有。

The story, is like I say, quaint, but him spotting the error is irrelevant, what gives me cause for concern is the fact that the Charlotte Observer tells us there are precisely 22853 jelly beans in the half pyramid.这个故事，就像我刚才所说，古朴，但他发现错误，是不相干的，是什么让我有令人关切的问题是事实，即夏洛特观察员告诉我们，正是有22853软糖豆，在金字塔的一半。 Rubbish, it would be an amazing fluke if there were exactly that number.垃圾，这将是一个惊人的福禄克，如果有确切的数目。

Given that jelly beans are a manufactured product of only approximately closed cylindrical shape there’s no way of knowing whether some are a lot less than 0.9 cubic cm and some a lot more.鉴于软糖豆是一个制造的产物，只有大约封闭圆柱形状有无从得知，是否有些是大大少于0.9立方厘米和一些有很多更多。 Moreover, they don’t even mention packing density, there are myriad ways these candies could fit into a container some more efficient than others and so some allowing a bigger number contained than others.此外，他们甚至不提及的堆积密度，有无数的方法，这些糖果可以融入一个货柜一些更有效率比别人等等，让一些更大的数目，载有比别人。 A really good estimate would be to two or three significant figures at best, so around 23000 plus or minus a couple of hundred, I’d say.一个真正良好的估计将是两个或三个显着的数字，在最好的，所以周围的2.3万加或减一对夫妇的100 ，我会说。 But, even then the volume is only given to one significant figure so even that might be pushing it a bit.不过，即使当时的数量是只有考虑到的一个显着的数字，因此，即使可能推动它一点。 If one could make such precise estimates of packing based on a unit cell volume known to only one significant figure a lot of materials scientists would be out of work.如果能作出准确的估计，如包装的基础上，单位细胞体积已知只有一个显着的数字，大量的材料，科学家将失去工作。

And now a word to the wise: If you want some jelly beans don’t go to Discovery Place, buy gourmet jelly beans online and then pig out on those delicious jelly beans when they arrive!现在，一言以明智的：如果你想要一些软糖豆不去发现的地方，购买美食软糖豆线上，然后猪列于那些美味的软糖豆当他们到达！