A few weeks ago, we posed the following science riddle, written by Adam Hincks:
Needling upwards, never ending, Pin-pricked from a point piercing ever higher, Then forwards on, flat, not bending, I stroll strictly, straight as a wire. Sum me in segments slimly parted
From left to right and you’ll reckon one; Transform a wave in time charted: Frequently frame it and you’ll find me when done. Stream-banks near shore often share my name, My true title, the task of this game.
The solution is:
the Dirac delta function (like it wasn’t obvious)
The Dirac delta function has all these properties. It is infinite when x is zero, and is zero when x is any other value.
Pick up the print edition of The Varsity for a fully illustrarted explanation.
