Some new results concerning two counterfeit coins


Ivica Bošnjak, Ratko Tošić




We consider the problem of ascertaining the minimum number of weighings which suffice to determine the counterfeit (heavier) coins in a set of $n$ coins of the same appearance, given a balance scale and the information that there are exactly two heavier coins present. Some results from [8] are improved by construction of a procedure which is proved to be optimal for all $n$'s belonging to the set \[ \bigcup_{k\geq2}([[3^kqrt6+1],4\cdot3^k]\cup[[3^kqrt2+1],20\cdot3^{k-2}]). \]