doctor_big wrote: > @Golden Earring > > Your writing style is a breath of fresh air. Good work. > > Could you please post some rationalization regarding the Julius caesar > atoms /breath in & out scenario? > > 50% seems rather high.
Hi doc. Just to make the result seem even more remarkable: If you're prepared to accept my word that the answer is indeed 50%, basic probability theory then implies that the chance of NOT catching one of Julius's atoms in your next 7 breathes is (0.5)^7 which is 1/128. In other words, if you stay alive long enough to take another 7 breaths, the chance of getting one is in excess of 99%. It is truly extraordinary. The Oxford dons were always looking for more than book learning. Having completed a Physics practical examination (which itself has a funny story, but I digress) & then been offered a place at my first choice college (Wadham), both Pembroke & Exeter Colleges decided that they were light on suitable candidates & summoned me in for an interview, during a brief trip to Oxford lasting about 3 days. I got totally mauled by the Pembroke don who asked me about radioactive decay. I said it happened at random, which is true. He then asked me the reason that it happened when it did which totally floored me. He asked me how I pictured an atom so I said there was a small solid nucleus in the middle, generally consisting of a combination of neutrons & protons, with a swarm of electrons buzzing around some considerable distance away, which was probably a reasonable concept 50 years earlier (which was probably about the time whoever taught my Physics master learned his stuff). It's pretty obvious that this didn't give me a clue in terms of answering his previous question. He gave me a succinct lecture on the idea of picturing the nucleus as being *-liquid-*, thus allowing the possibility of certain alignments promulgating the emission of an electron (that would be a beta particle, then? Too late... ) & chucked me out. A friend of mine subsequently attended Pembroke & studied Physics with the guy to doctorate level: he said that he was ok, so I either caught him on a bad day or just missed his pet subject. I got a much smoother ride at Exeter College who effectively bought me off Wadham by offering me the Open Exhibition. In fact £40 per 8 week term actually made a difference when it came to settling up the College Bar bill from a state grant (no loans in those days!), so I was quite happy. My headmaster had dictated the codes & order of the colleges I should apply to when I was filling in the Oxford application form, presumably based in some way on his connections (he was a Merton College History graduate) so I didn't really know what was going on... All's well that ends well, though. Beware The Ides of March, thankfully gone for this year at least! Dave :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Golden Earring's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=66646 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=106914
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