An Algorithm for Designing Circles in a Bubble Chart
Ching-Shoei Chiang, Hung-Chieh Li · Axioms · 2025
In this study, we investigated circle design in a bubble chart. The bubble chart that we designed has a unit circle at the center and is surrounded by a series of layered circle rings. In order to add the next layer of circles, there is always a silhouette circle that is tangential to all circles in the newest layer. The extension of the circle is partitioned into two classes: one in which each layer has the same number of circles with the same radii, and another in which the new layer has circles with different radii. We solve this problem geometrically and/or algebraically if the problem is simple and present a heuristic algorithm for solving more complex problems.