colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman) (12/26/85)
Here's a new one: a practical joker tampered with the Great Explorer's
gyrocompass, so it points 45 degrees off. The Great Explorer thinks
he's going due north on his way to the North Pole, but he's really going
due northwest!
Will he reach the North Pole anyway? (Geographers keep out of this one!)
--
Col. G. L. Sicherman
UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel
CS: colonel@buffalo-cs
BI: csdsicher@sunyabvaewa@sdcc3.UUCP (Eric Anderson) (12/29/85)
In article <2667@sunybcs.UUCP> colonel@sunybcs (Col. G. L. Sicherman) writes: >Here's a new one: a practical joker tampered with the Great Explorer's >gyrocompass, so it points 45 degrees off. The Great Explorer thinks >he's going due north on his way to the North Pole, but he's really going >due northwest! > >Will he reach the North Pole anyway? (Geographers keep out of this one!) I'm no geographer, so... If a 'gyrocompass' is no different from a normal compass, it is impossible to tamper with it in such a way as to make it point 45 degrees off. Consider: 1. The orientation of the NSEW scale is not important, since you line up the needle with 'N' each time. 2. The needle is magnetized along its major axis. While a 180 degree error could be introduced, a 45 degree error cannot. If a 'gyrocompass' is such a device that it can be mis-aligned by 45 degrees despite the above, then our explorer will spiral in to the pole, assuming he checks his direction constantly. (Well, the north MAGNETIC pole, not the one we all think of.) Eric Anderson, UC San Diego {elsewhere}!ihnp4!ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdcc3!ewa Home: (619)453-7315 Work: (619)586-1201 White House: (202)456-1414
lhl@lanl.ARPA (12/30/85)
> In article <2667@sunybcs.UUCP> colonel@sunybcs (Col. G. L. Sicherman) writes: > >Here's a new one: a practical joker tampered with the Great Explorer's > >gyrocompass, so it points 45 degrees off. The Great Explorer thinks > >he's going due north on his way to the North Pole, but he's really going > >due northwest! > > > >Will he reach the North Pole anyway? (Geographers keep out of this one!) > > If a 'gyrocompass' is such a device that it can be mis-aligned by 45 degrees > despite the above, then our explorer will spiral in to the pole, assuming he > checks his direction constantly. *** PICTURE YOUR ADVERTISEMENT HERE *** Of course, if a 'gyrocompass' is a device which maintains its direction in an inertial frame, at some point, not the north pole, it will point straight up. There the explorer will stop. Dear Santa Claus: Yes, there is a Virginia. Howland Owl
wayne@ada-uts.UUCP (12/31/85)
> Here's a new one: a practical joker tampered with the Great Explorer's > gyrocompass, so it points 45 degrees off. The Great Explorer thinks > he's going due north on his way to the North Pole, but he's really going > due northwest! > > Will he reach the North Pole anyway? (Geographers keep out of this one!) I was wondering: if he was flying, starting from 0 degrees lat, 0 degrees long, how many miles would he travel to get to the North Pole using the tampered compass, if he indeed gets there? It would be easier if one assumed the earth was a perfect sphere. Wayne Wylupski ...!{ihnp4,ima}!inmet!ada-uts!wayne
dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady) (01/02/86)
In article <2667@sunybcs.UUCP> colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman) writes: >Here's a new one: a practical joker tampered with the Great Explorer's >gyrocompass, so it points 45 degrees off. The Great Explorer thinks >he's going due north on his way to the North Pole, but he's really going >due northwest! > >Will he reach the North Pole anyway? (Geographers keep out of this one!) Presumably he'll starve, die of old age or exposure, or get fried by the sun going nova (if he's really a toughie) first, as he spirals his way northwestward. Actually, gyrocompasses aren't that useful in polar regions (as sub sailors know) because they point up! (Hope I remember this right - I'd hate to take the scorn of Usenet if I'm mistaken.) Note that if it had been a magnetic compass the answer would depend on the starting point. -- D Gary Grady Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC 27706 (919) 684-3695 USENET: {seismo,decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary