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The generalised Gamow-Stern problem

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Subhranil De
Affiliation:
Anushakti Abasan 11AF, Salt Lake, Calcutta - 700 064, India
Abhijit Sen
Affiliation:
SINP Housing Complex, Salt Lake, Calcutta - 700 064, India

Extract

This problem refers to an observation made by George Gamow and Marvin Stern [1]. They found that concerning multi-storey buildings whenever one requires the lift on a particular floor, the probability of the lift coming from above or below varies according to the height of the floor concerned. It was observed that on the second floor of a seven-storey building, the probability of the lift coming from below is very small whereas it is much greater when the sixth floor is concerned. This is very similar to the case of finding the probability of a bus coming from a particular direction at a stop on a bus route.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1996

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References

1. Gamow, G. and Stern, M., Puzzle math, Macmillan & Co. (1960).Google Scholar