bernard.blackham.com.au/lighthouse
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Imagine two lighthouses, A and B, shining beams of light as they turn. The lights always turn in opposite directions (A turning anti-clockwise, B turning clockwise). The relative speeds of rotation can vary.
Suppose the two lights start facing each other. Sketch the path traced by the point of intersection of the beams if light A turns twice as quickly as light B. Investigate the path if the speed of rotation differ.
-- Year 11 Geometry & Trigonometry
Extended Work 1. 2000
Leeming Senior High School
This graphical method of solving the problem was developed by Bernard Blackham in conjunction with Mr Colin Abé, of Leeming Senior High School.
The original idea was to devise a formula to plot the path on a graphic calculator (CFX-9850G/GB+), but due to the limitations of the calculator, this could not be done so easily.
This program was written to achieve the same result, but overcome the limitation of the graphic calculator.
Visitor number since 5th March 2000.
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