Optimal cylinder inscribed in a cone

ID: optimal-cylinder-inscribed-in-a-cone

For a coaxial cylinder standing on the base of a right circular cone of height and semi-vertical angle , similar triangles give radius at cylinder height . Its volume is . Differentiation gives , so the unique positive-volume maximum has and occupies of the cone's volume. Its curved surface area is instead , maximized at . Changing the optimized quantity changes the optimal shape, even though the geometric constraint is identical.

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