Apparatus for producing a random variable following a normal distribution

摘要

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a random variable according to a normal distribution, intended especially for the teaching of statistics. This apparatus is characterised in that it includes a support 1 on which a projectile 5 is mounted so as to be movable, constituted by a body having a defined mass, means 4, 18, 19 for imparting a displacement along a defined trajectory to this movable body, means 6 for applying, several times, an initial impulse of defined intensity to the projectile 5 previously placed in a start position, and means 17, 20 for measuring, after each impulse, the distance travelled by the projectile 5 from its start position to its stop position under the action of friction forces. IMAGE