Sphere packing in a sphere is a three-dimensional

packing problem Packing problems are a class of optimization problems in mathematics that involve attempting to pack objects together into containers. The goal is to either pack a single container as densely as possible or pack all objects using as few conta ...

with the objective of packing a given number of equal spheres inside a

unit sphere In mathematics, a unit sphere is a sphere of unit radius: the locus (mathematics), set of points at Euclidean distance 1 from some center (geometry), center point in three-dimensional space. More generally, the ''unit -sphere'' is an n-sphere, -s ...

. It is the three-dimensional equivalent of the

circle packing in a circle Circle packing in a circle is a two-dimensional packing problem with the objective of packing unit circles into the smallest possible larger circle. Table of solutions, 1 ≤ ''n'' ≤ 20 If more than one optimal solution exists, all are show ...

problem in two dimensions.

References

{{Packing problem, state=collapsed Spheres Packing problems