Introductory note to 1933a

pp. 722-733

in: Ernst Zermelo, Calculus of variations, applied mathematics, and physics/Variationsrechnung, angewandte mathematik und physik, Berlin, Springer, 2013

Abstract

The paper treats the following question: How does a piece of sugar, considered as a rectangular prism, split if one tries to break it by gripping it at two opposite corners? Zermelo first analyzes the physical conditions and then provides a mathematically simple solution together with generalizations resulting from replacing the cross-section rectangle by ellipses and parallelograms.