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stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
...gives the correct time once a day. (If it's a 24-hour clock.)
How can a clock which is running at a constant speed give the correct time all day long EXCEPT for one second? |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Perhaps a sandclock, which has to be refilled or turned over once a day?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
Well, it's come and gone...
Hope everyone had a happy leap second. Now I've got to go around the house and set all my clocks back one second. Stan Alger |
Corona Smith Inner circle Airstrip One 1689 Posts |
A stopped clock is right
once in the day and once in the night |
stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
Yes, a 12-hour stopped clock would be correct twice a day.
But a 24-hour stopped clock (one that distinguishes between a.m. and p.m.) would be correct only once a day. Getting back to the original question... In what region(s) of the world could a clock running at a constant speed gave the correct time all day long EXCEPT for one second? |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
Perhaps a stopped clock in orbit moving with the dateline?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
Assume the clock doesn't move (in relation to the earth.)
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Corona Smith Inner circle Airstrip One 1689 Posts |
Ok if you don't like my poem, can I have 3 guesses?
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Geronimo Regular user 115 Posts |
On the Equator?
Give me back my head!
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Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
What about the equator would make this true?
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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Geronimo Regular user 115 Posts |
This would be where the earths wobble is at its most pronounced.
Give me back my head!
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Corona Smith Inner circle Airstrip One 1689 Posts |
Guess Number 1
If the clock was a pendulum clock it would be heaviest at the poles therefore may run a little slower than on the equator. So perhaps it could either gain or lose a second depending on the latitude. Corona |
TomasB Inner circle Sweden 1144 Posts |
Quote: Didn't all the clocks go wrong _after_ that second until you set them back? I don't see how it was a single second they showed the wrong time.
On 2005-12-31 19:03, stanalger wrote: Unless you mean _one_ particular day and start measuring the start of that day 23:59:59 hours before that leap second. Yes, that'd work. Sorry for posting. /Tomas |
stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
Let me re-work this puzzle.
"I was born on a Sunday in a hospital in a major European city. My mother remembers a curious fact about the hospital clock in her room. Although it ran all day at a constant speed, there was exactly one second on my birthday in which the clock DID NOT give the correct time. I am not a Capricorn and I was born in either Paris, London, Madrid, or Rome. Which city was I born in? What was my birthday (day, month, year)? |
stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
Ooooops! I left a few cities off of the list. I meant to include Dublin,
Lisbon, Oslo, Reykjavik, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Here is the corrected version: "I was born on a Sunday in a hospital in a major European city. My mother remembers a curious fact about the clock in her hospital room. Although it ran all day at a constant speed, there was exactly one second on my birthday in which the clock DID NOT give the correct time. I am not a Capricorn and I was born in one of the following cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Reykjavik, Rome. Which city was I born in? What was my birthday (day, month, year)?" |
stanalger Special user St. Louis, MO 998 Posts |
I have received the correct birthdate via PM from Tomas.
So the problem IS solvable. Stan |
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