In the picture below, the circles are tangent to each other and to the edges of the rectangle. The larger circle's radius equals 1. Determine the area of the rectangle.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/g3GUg4Z.png[/img]
1. **Determine the radii of the smaller circles:**
   - The radius of the larger circle is given as \(1\).
   - The width of the rectangle is equal to the diameter of the larger circle, which is \(2\).
   - The width of the rectangle is also equal to the combined diameters of the two smaller circles.
   - Therefore, the radius of each smaller circle is \(\frac{1}{2}\).

2. **Form an isosceles triangle:**
   - Connect the centers of the three circles to form an isosceles triangle.
   - The base of this triangle is the distance between the centers of the two smaller circles, which is \(1\) (since each smaller circle has a radius of \(\frac{1}{2}\), and the distance between their centers is the sum of their radii).
   - The equal sides of the triangle are the distances from the center of the larger circle to the centers of the smaller circles, which are \(1 + \frac{1}{2} = \frac{3}{2}\).

3. **Calculate the height of the isosceles triangle:**
   - Draw the altitude from the top vertex (center of the larger circle) to the base of the isosceles triangle.
   - This altitude divides the isosceles triangle into two right triangles, each with a base of \(\frac{1}{2}\) and a hypotenuse of \(\frac{3}{2}\).
   - Using the Pythagorean theorem:
     \[
     \left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^2 + x^2 = \left(\frac{3}{2}\right)^2
     \]
     \[
     \frac{1}{4} + x^2 = \frac{9}{4}
     \]
     \[
     x^2 = \frac{9}{4} - \frac{1}{4} = 2
     \]
     \[
     x = \sqrt{2}
     \]

4. **Determine the length of the rectangle:**
   - The length of the rectangle is the sum of the height of the isosceles triangle, the radius of one smaller circle, and the radius of the larger circle.
   - Therefore, the length of the rectangle is:
     \[
     \sqrt{2} + \frac{1}{2} + 1 = \frac{3 + 2\sqrt{2}}{2}
     \]

5. **Calculate the area of the rectangle:**
   - The area of the rectangle is given by the product of its width and length.
   - The width is \(2\) and the length is \(\frac{3 + 2\sqrt{2}}{2}\).
   - Therefore, the area is:
     \[
     2 \times \frac{3 + 2\sqrt{2}}{2} = 3 + 2\sqrt{2}
     \]

The final answer is \(\boxed{3 + 2\sqrt{2}}\).