Mathematics · the experiment
Make the still runner lonely
You watch the track from the still runner, at the start. Pick the moment when the others are farthest from it, then open the danger windows of the counting argument.
1 · Push two runners away
Beginner
That largest gap is the maximum loneliness ML(V). What does the conjecture predict with n moving runners?
Two runners circle at speeds 1 and 2. Set the time t so that the closest one is as far as possible from the start.
2 · Add a third runner
Intermediate
According to the article, what is the maximum loneliness of speeds 1, 2, 3 and 4?
A runner joins at speed 3. Find again the moment when the closest one is farthest from the start.
3 · Open the danger windows
Intermediate
With n moving runners, how far does the counting argument guarantee a free moment?
Each runner is dangerous when it passes within δ of the start. Widen these windows until their total length, 2nδ, is exactly 1.
4 · Go to a hundred runners
Expert
With n = 100 moving runners, the easy bound guarantees 1/200 of a lap. What does the new theorem guarantee?
5 · Keep a single runner
Expert
Alone, this runner gets at best half a lap away: exactly 1/(2n) for n = 1. Why does the new theorem not contradict this?
Only one runner is left, at speed 3. Push it as far as possible from the start.
Runner left alone
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