On Nonobtuse Simplicial Partitions

This paper surveys some results on acute and nonobtuse simplices and associated spatial partitions. These partitions are relevant in numerical mathematics, including piecewise polynomial approximation theory and the finite element method. Special attention is paid to a basic type of nonobtuse simplices called path-simplices, the generalization of right triangles to higher dimensions. In addition to applications in numerical mathematics, we give examples of the appearance of acute and nonobtuse simplices in other areas of mathematics.