Re: [Phys-L] just for fun

[Jeff Bigler <jcb@mit.edu>]

Or just disassemble one of the switches and add another light bulb in series.  Turn on that one plus one other.  The lights will be bright, dim and off. 

Jeff Bigler
Lynn English HS; Lynn, MA, USA

Pls prdn brvity, typoes & mssng vowels.  Msg snt frm phone.  :)

> On Dec 18, 2013, at 3:33 PM, Christopher M Gould <gould@usc.edu> wrote:
>
>    From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@phys-l.org] On Behalf Of John Denker
>    Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 11:11 AM
>    To: Phys-L@Phys-L.org
>    >  You start out in the attic.  There are three switches.  It is known
>    >  that there are three light bulbs in the basement.  The switches
>    >  control the lights, but you don't know which goes with which.  You
>    >  get to make *one* trip to the basement to figure this out.  How?
>
>
> Just for fun.  Here's another one with fewer assumptions, but a bit more work.
>
> Assuming there is a one-to-one correspondence between switches and lights, and assuming the wiring is in good shape, then another solution is to take a screwdriver and disassemble two switches, connect a D cell where one switch used to be and a transistor radio battery where the other used to be, walk calmly downstairs and measure the voltage across each socket after taking out the light bulb.
>
>
> _________________
> Christopher M. Gould    213-740-1101    Dept. of Physics & Astronomy
> gould@usc.edu                           Univ. of Southern California
> http://physics.usc.edu/~gould/ Los Angeles, CA   90089-0484
>
>
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