Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Location Science is a rich and fruitful field, gathering a large variety of problems.
The research conducted in this area has led to the creation of a considerable amount
of knowledge, both in terms of theoretical properties and modeling frameworks,
together with solution techniques. This knowledge has evolved over time, pushed
by the need to solve practical location problems, by technical and theoretical
challenges, and often by problems arising in various disciplines. In fact, the
interaction with other disciplines such as economics, geography, regional science
and logistics, just to mention a few, has always been a driving force behind the
development of Location Science. Nowadays, the potential of this field of study
in the context of many real-world systems is widely recognized. This topic emerges
from the need to gather in a single volume the basic knowledge on Location Science
as well as from the importance of somehow structuring the field and showing how
it interacts with other disciplines.
In this introductory chapter we start by tracing the roots of what is now known
as Location Science. This is done is Sects.
1.2
and
1.3
. In Sect.
1.4
we present the
purpose and structure of this topic. Finally, in Sect.
1.5
we provide some suggestions
on how to make the best use of the topic.
1.2
The Roots
In order to trace the roots of modern Location Science, one must go back to an old
geometric problem which is simple to state: What is the point in the Euclidean
plane minimizing the sum of its distances to three given points (Fig.
1.1
)? This
problem is widely credited to the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat (1601-
1665)
1
although its origin is a matter of debate (see Wesolowsky
1993
).
Since the seventeenth century, different solutions have been proposed for
Fermat's problem. There is evidence that the first one is due to the Italian scientist
Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647). The geometric approach proposed by Torricelli
is depicted in Fig.
1.2
and can be described as follows: By joining the three given
points with line segments, a triangle is obtained. Equilateral triangles can now
Fig. 1.1
Fermat's problem
1
The problem is presented in his famous essay on maxima and minima.
