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Statistics

In order to convey uncertainty in the reported values, iterations of the experiments must be performed, yielding statistical means and estimated standard deviations. An iteration here requires discarding all previous information about sphere locations and sizes. A completely new list of sphere diameters is created, sorted, and randomly parked within the system. From this new system, the different measures of spacing are performed, and the results recorded. After this, the information about sphere locations and sizes is once again discarded, and a new iteration begins. A mean and an estimated standard deviation for each measure of spacing are calculated from the values found for each iteration, and reported in the results.