Friday, January 27, 2012

Does anyone know how to solve the popular carnival game鈥?"circle of science"?

It is the game where you have a big circle and you have 5 little circles in your hand and you have to "drop" them and cover all of the red space.Does anyone know how to solve the popular carnival game鈥?"circle of science"?
Assuming the game is "fair" -- that is, it is actually possible to completely cover the big circle with the five smaller disks -- even if you know how to win the game, it is still very difficult to accomplish. The disks are usually made of a material that causes little friction between themselves and the table that contains the big circle, so when you drop them, they slide just a little when they land. This requires you to compensate for the sliding, which is nearly impossible.



The five small droppable disks will cover the one large stationary circle -- again, if the game is "fair" -- if they are placed in such a way that one edge of each disc touches or very slightly covers the exact center of the circle, and they are evenly spaced around the circle, like the five points of a perfect star. When you drop them, however, most of them will try to slide downhill, so you must compensate for this. The first drop will be on a smooth surface, but anything that falls on an existing disk will be falling on the uneven surface caused by the disk(s) underneath. Air resistance will also cause the disks to float a bit before landing, making the game even more difficult. - LJS

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