Thomson Problem Solutions
Thomson Problem Solutions
In the Thomson problem, point charges are placed on the surface of a unit sphere in such a way as to minimize the total energy of the system. These solutions place each point so that its nearest neighbors are as far away as possible.
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This Demonstration uses precalculated data from [1], which represents many years of research and optimization. Officially, the problem is only solved for 1 to 6 and 12 points; all other solutions are considered "best known." For code that solves the Thomson problem, see the Related Links.