Stirring Coffee

A Real-Life Application of Topology in Analysis

Abstract

Have you ever pondered, after gently swirling a spoon through your steaming cup of coffee, whether, despite your meticulous stirring efforts, a solitary coffee molecule might have ended up exactly at the position where it was before stirring? Legend has it that Dutch mathematician Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer (1881–1966) engaged in precisely such an experiment, ultimately establishing what is now celebrated as the Brouwer Fixed Point theorem – a beautiful result combining Topology with Analysis.