a question of time win an oris watch

Friday 20 October 1995 23:02 BST
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Five eccentric professors, each with an outlandish theory of time travel, recently approached the British Science Council with the hope of securing funds for their projects. Each was granted an audience on a different weekday, and each demonstration lasted a different number of whole hours (from two to six).

Professor Tolstorri's time-travel theory took an hour longer to explain than the one based on temporal warping (which was not proposed on Friday) but an hour shorter than the demonstration on Monday. The principle of particle collapsing was met with astonishment from the council. Professor O'Diermi's moment of truth came the day after the presentation on linear distortion and the day before the five-hour discourse. The discussion on neutron acceleration lasted an hour longer than the one given by the fast-talking Professor Jibrisch. The four-hour talk took place a day before the one on neutron acceleration; the latter occurred a day before Professor Tolstorri's talk, which did not end the week. Professor Kokkenbul impressed the panel for an hour longer than the Wednesday academic but an hour shorter than the expert on spatial transmogrification. The council looked perplexed when Professor Novay produced a carrot and a ball of string to help explain his theory.

Can you work out the day of each professor's demonstration, the length of his talk and the nature of each theory?

Starting tip: First find the theory demonstrated on Monday

An Oris watch worth pounds 200 will go to the sender of the first correct answer opened.

Answers on a postcard, marked A Question of Time 1, should reach us by Thursday. Send to The Independent Magazine, PO Box 7294, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DG (fax 0171-293 2068). The solution will be published in two weeks' time.

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