![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Smallest_circle_problem.svg/640px-Smallest_circle_problem.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Smallest-circle problem
Finding the smallest circle that contains all given points / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Bounding circle?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The smallest-circle problem (also known as minimum covering circle problem, bounding circle problem, least bounding circle problem, smallest enclosing circle problem) is a computational geometry problem of computing the smallest circle that contains all of a given set of points in the Euclidean plane. The corresponding problem in n-dimensional space, the smallest bounding sphere problem, is to compute the smallest n-sphere that contains all of a given set of points.[1] The smallest-circle problem was initially proposed by the English mathematician James Joseph Sylvester in 1857.[2]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Smallest_circle_problem.svg/640px-Smallest_circle_problem.svg.png)
The smallest-circle problem in the plane is an example of a facility location problem (the 1-center problem) in which the location of a new facility must be chosen to provide service to a number of customers, minimizing the farthest distance that any customer must travel to reach the new facility.[3] Both the smallest circle problem in the plane, and the smallest bounding sphere problem in any higher-dimensional space of bounded dimension are solvable in worst-case linear time.