OFFSET
1,1
COMMENTS
An exact hit in which all angles are exactly 120 degrees is impossible. The smallest possible deviation occurs at two points in each display cycle, namely at 02:54:34.5617..., and at 09:05:25.4383... . With rounding to the nearest integer second, this corresponds to the terms a(6)=25435 and a(17)=90525.
The least squares clock solution actually occurs at an exact rational time, namely 5333364000/509173 seconds after 00:00:00, or 285998/509173 seconds after 02:54:34; and the exact least squares sum (in units of squared rotations) is 1/3055038 or (in units of squared clock-second-ticks) 3600/3055038 = 600/509173. - Robert B Fowler, Oct 29 2021
LINKS
Henry Ernest Dudeney, Amusements in Mathematics, London, New York, Nelson, 1917. (Problem #63: The Stop-Watch)
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn,base,fini,full,easy
AUTHOR
Hugo Pfoertner, Aug 13 2021
EXTENSIONS
a(8) corrected by Robert B Fowler, Oct 29 2021
STATUS
approved