So, a rocket, if it has the speed and acceleration just right, can go in a circle with its exhaust (stern) outside of the circle and the bow inside of the circle--so the bow would traverse a smaller distance. Alternately, if the rocket is in a circular orbit and its spin is phase locked (like the moon), one could pick either the stern or the bow to be continually facing inward. One could fiddle with the center of mass and the shape of all these things to magnify the difference. One could envision a yacht whose CM is equidistant from the bow and the stern, heading straight out, coasting to a stop, then twisting about the CM 180 deg, then heading back straight, so that the distance travelled is the same for the bow and the stern. I suppose that, like most objects, if the CM is towards the bow, the motion might be somewhat more stable; if that is true for yachts, then I would guess that the stern travels a slightly longer path. There is something called the center of pressure (if I recall correctly), which might affect the estimates. -----Original Message----- From: math-fun-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:math-fun-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of James Propp Sent: Monday, June 24, 2013 2:55 PM To: math-fun Subject: [EXTERNAL] [math-fun] yacht question Do the front and back of a yacht travel the same distance? (Let's assume that the earth is flat for purposes of this problem.) Here's a question that I think is equivalent: If a yacht travels in a circle, do the front and back ends of the yacht travel on circles of the same radius? Jim Propp _______________________________________________ math-fun mailing list math-fun@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/math-fun