Capturing a pirate ship

1,439.6K Views

You’re on a government ship, looking for a pirate ship.  You know that the pirate ship travels at a constant speed, and you know what that speed is.  Your ship can travel twice as fast as the pirate ship.  Moreover, you know that the pirate ship travels along a straight line, but you don’t know what that line is.  It’s very foggy, so foggy that you see nothing.  But then!  All of a sudden, and for just an instant, the fog clears enough to let you determine the exact position of the pirate ship.  Then, the fog closes in again and you remain (forever) in the thick fog.  Although you were able to determine the position of the pirate ship during that fog-free moment, you were not able to determine its direction.  How will you navigate your government ship so that you will capture the pirate ship?

Share
Add Comment

  • 1 Answer(s)

    He will remember the time he saw the ship.thenhe will get to that position then. He will estimate the distance the pirate ship have gone from this point as he have relation in speeds.now assume a thief is running with speed v and  is at distance x on linear  line and policeman at 2v then the distance at witch police man will catch up is r.now back to case, he will go in any direction with speed 2v(assuming v of pirate ship) and cover distance r.then he will turn 90 degree and move in a spiral out wards with pirate ship’s known point at centre and with speed v along the radius away from centre.i am not physics person so sorry for not knowing technical terms.

    Yodha Expert Answered on 22nd February 2016.
    Add Comment
  • Your Answer

    By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.
  • More puzzles to try-