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Sunday, February 16, 2025

Owner of a squished heart

You can generate a heart shape by drawing a unit square (i.e., a square with side length 1), and then attaching semicircles (each with radius 1/2) to adjacent edges, as shown in the diagram below:

What is the radius of the smallest circle that contains this heart shape?

Let's define our frame of reference. Let's assume that the center of this unit square is the origin and that as in the figure above, the sides of the square make angle of π4 with respect to the x- and y-axes. In particular, the lowest corner of the unit square is located at (0,22). The two semi-circles added on the upper sides of the square are centered at (±24,24). From symmetry, we will focus on the one in the first quadrant and parameterize its boundary as (24+12cos(θπ4),24+12sin(θπ4)), for 0θπ.

Due to symmetry, any smallest inscribing circle should be centered at some point (0,h) on the positive y-axis. Then we can set up the problem in the following way. Obviously in order for every point in the semi-circle centered at (24,24) inside a circle centered at (0,h) we would need to have the radius be R(h)=maxθ[0,π](24+12cos(θπ4))2+(24h+12sin(θπ4))2=maxθ[0,π]18+24cos(θπ4)+14cos2(θπ4)+(24h)2+(24h)sin(θπ4)+14sin2(θπ4)=maxθ[0,π]38+(24h)2+24cos(θπ4)+(24h)sin(θπ4). Since square roots are monotonic and several of the terms are constant with respect to θ, the optimal value of \theta in to obtain R(h) will be equivalent to the optimizer of the function fh(θ)=24cos(θπ4)+(24h)sin(θπ4) on θ[0,π]. Taking the derivative with respect to θ and setting equal to zero we see that the only critical value of fh in that interval satisfies 24sin(θπ4)+(24h)cos(θπ4)=0, or equivalently tan(θπ4)=122h, which implies that cos(θπ4)=11+(122h)2sin(θπ4)=122h1+(122h)2, since cos(tan1x)=11+x2 and sin(tan1x)=x1+x2. Plugging this back into fh, we get fh(θ)=2411+(122h)2+(24h)122h1+(122h)2=241+(122h)21+(122h)2=241+(122h)2. Plugging this value back into R(h) we get R(h)=38+18(122h)2+241+(122h)2.

Now in order for the entire unit square to be contained within the circle, the lowest point (0,22) must also be less than or equal to R(h) away from the center at (0,h). In particular, if we want to have the inscribed within the circle we should have the R(h) equal the distance between (0,22) and (0,h), that is h+22. This leads to the equation h+22=38+18(122h)2+241+(122h)2. Squaring both sides yields the equivalent equation (h+22)2=38+18(122h)2+241+(122h)2 which is again equivalent to 322h=241+(122h)2. Squaring both sides again yield 92h2=18(1+(122h)2)=h222h+14 or equivalently 72h2+22h14=0. Solving the quadratic in terms of h leaves the only positive solution as h=22+1247214272=22+12+727=2227=4214. Therefore, the radius of the smallest circle that contains this heart shape is R(h)=4214+22=42+7214=4+6214=2+3270.89180581.

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