3 papers
physics.hist-ph2019
Nonconservation of Energy and Loss of Determinism I. Infinitely Many Balls
David Atkinson, Porter Johnson
An infinite number of elastically colliding balls is considered in a classical, and then in a relativistic setting. Energy and momentum are not necessarily conserved globally, even…
physics.hist-ph2019
Nonconservation of Energy and Loss of Determinism II: Colliding with an Open Set
David Atkinson, Porter Johnson
An actual infinity of colliding balls can be in a configuration in which the laws of mechanics lead to logical inconsistency. It is argued that one should therefore limit the domai…
math.PR2019
Gambler's Ruin? Some Aspects of Coin Tossing
Porter W. Johnson, David Atkinson
What is the average number of tosses needed before a particular sequence of heads and tails turns up? We solve the problem didactically, starting with doubles, finding that a tail,…