Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site ulowell.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!wanginst!wang!ulowell!dobro
From: dobro@ulowell.UUCP (Chet Dobro)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: Re: Explorer paradox * SEMI-SPOILER *
Message-ID: <175@ulowell.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 21-Jan-86 03:31:52 EST
Article-I.D.: ulowell.175
Posted: Tue Jan 21 03:31:52 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Jan-86 20:51:54 EST
References: <2667@sunybcs.UUCP> <1478@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> <1011@ecsvax.UUCP> <128@molihp.UUCP>
Organization: University of Lowell
Lines: 37

> In article <1011@ecsvax.UUCP> hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer) writes:
> >> 
> >> > From: colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman)
> >> > Message-ID: <2667@sunybcs.UUCP>
> >> > 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!)
> >> 
> 
> My own thoughts about this are as follows.  If this explorer is following
> the compass at all, he should eventually arrive at the north pole after
> a number of spirals toward it.  My thinking goes like this; if this compass
> points anything less that 90 degress away from north, he will eventually
> find north by its vector quality.  That is to say, if you subtract the
> e-w direction component away from the vector, you are left with the north 
> component of the vector.  This northern component may be small, but it
> exists; so the explorer shall eventually get there.  The greater the
> e-w component as compare to the norther component of the vector (ie. closer
> to 90 degrees from north) the longer the distance (number of spirals)
> before the explorer gets to the North Pole.  It can be easily visualized
> if you think as the world as flat and repeating, and the north pole is a
> straight line on the top.  This way the problem can be solved using simple 
> geometry.
> 
> 
> 	Anyone care to comment....It seemed logical to me; but I may be
> 	missing something fundamental - unlikely though :-).
> 
> 				Martin the Magician.

This is correct given that the compas poins to the north pole and not
magnetic-north.

						Gryphon