You are in a straight 400 m race. You overtake the last person.
What position are you in now?
If "straight" is defined as not veering left or right, it would be possible for a straight track to be built to accomodate a runner to lap another runner. Examples are:
- On the inside hull of a spaceship (rotating to create artificial gravity as seen in some futuristic movies).
- Around a small planetoid (circumference being less than or equal to 400 m) with high density (high enough gravity the runners would not be bouncing off into space).
The overlapping runner's position would still be unknown as the number of competitors and their positions in the race are not given.
With the track inside a spaceship, the length of the track would be 400 meters, the overlapping runner would lead the last person by 400 meters; yet, for a track around the small planetoid, the leading distance would be dependant upon the planetoid's circumference.
|
Posted by Dej Mar
on 2008-01-05 21:48:52 |