pack circles into a partial annulus

[Roy Smith]

In article <mailman.16011.1416478357.18130.python-list at python.org>,
 Robin Becker <robin at reportlab.com> wrote:

> I need to pack circles into a partial annulus ie part of a larger circle 
> bounded by two radii [...]
> Circle packing is hard so I'm thinking of using some kind of spring/repulsion 
> model to do this.
> 
> Has anyone any ideas about how to do this?

This is not a Python question.  This is an algorithm question, and would 
be better asked on some sort of math forum.  Googling for things like 
"circle packing algorithm" brought me to http://www.packomania.com/, 
which looks like the perfect place to start your investigations.

Once you have a specific algorithm in mind, and are having problems 
coding it up, come back here for help on the Python aspects.