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From: jar@unc.UUCP (Jeff Raynes)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: time puzzle
Message-ID: <6124@unc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Nov-83 15:04:26 EST
Article-I.D.: unc.6124
Posted: Wed Nov  2 15:04:26 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Nov-83 23:22:31 EST
References: vax2.784
Lines: 12

The answer to the time puzzle was intriguing, but dead wrong.  The exact
time when the hour and minute hands line up is 5 and 5/11 minutes after
1.  5/11 of a minute is about 27 seconds, so the second hand will be
between the 5 and the 6 at that time.  All 3 hands will align only once
every 12 hours.  To see this, notice that the minute and hour hand are
aligned 11 times around the dial per cycle, while the second and minute
hands are aligned 59 times in their respective cycle.  11 and 59 being
relatively prime guarantees here that there will be no meetings except
at the trivial times of noon and midnight.

Jeff Raynes
{duke,mcnc,ulysses}!unc!jar