2015/12/23 by Tanya Khovanova, Khovanova, Tanya, Konstantin Knop +3
Mathematics · #00A08 #68Q30 #FOS: Mathematics #History and Overview (math.HO) #math.HO #msc:00A08 #msc:68Q30
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1512.07338
27 pages, 2 figures
arxiv created 2015/12/23 · arxiv updated 2015/12/24
We discuss coin-weighing problems with a new type of coin: a chameleon. A chameleon coin can mimic a fake or a real coin, and it can choose which coin to mimic for each weighing independently. We consider a mix of N coins that include exactly two non-real coins: one fake and one chameleon. The task is to use a balance to find two coins one of which has to be fake. We find bounds for the number of coins for which we can find a solution in a given number of weighings. We also introduce an important idea of solution scaling.