• DocumentCode
    1505924
  • Title

    Experiments in probabilities and randomness [My favorite experiment]

  • Author

    Witzel, John

  • Volume
    13
  • Issue
    3
  • fYear
    2010
  • fDate
    6/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
  • Firstpage
    43
  • Lastpage
    45
  • Abstract
    Take a US penny and give it a spin by flicking it with your finger on a tabletop. What are the chances of it coming to rest heads-up once it stops spinning? With an undamaged coin, a spirited flick and a clean level tabletop, 50-50? Or how about if you flip the same coin into the air and let it bounce on the ground and come to a stop? What are the chances of it landing heads-up now, again 50-50? And given the choice of what´s behind door number one, should you stick with your first choice or switch to what´s behind door number two or door number three? The answers may surprise you.
  • Keywords
    Creep; Gravity; History; Instruments; Joining processes; Spinning; Switches; Tail; Thumb;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine, IEEE
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • ISSN
    1094-6969
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1109/MIM.2010.5475168
  • Filename
    5475168