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New Scientist puzzle #34: Ant on a tetrahedron

11 December 2019

#34 Ant on a tetrahedron

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Three short-sighted spiders are clustered at the vertex of a wire frame in the shape of a tetrahedron. The spiders know that there is an ant walking around the frame, but they have no idea where it is. They will only be able to spot it when they are practically on top of it. The ant, on the other hand, has excellent eyesight and can plan its route accordingly to avoid the spiders. Given that the ant walks slightly slower than the spiders, is there a way for the ant to escape the spiders indefinitely?…

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