Author: A.K. Tolpygo
An irrational number \(\alpha\), where \(0 <\alpha <\frac 12\), is given. It defines a new number \(\alpha_1\) as the smaller of the two numbers \(2\alpha\) and \(1 - 2\alpha\). For this number, \(\alpha_2\) is determined similarly, and so on.
a) Prove that for some \(n\) the inequality \(\alpha_n <3/16\) holds.
b) Can it be that \(\alpha_n> 7/40\) for all positive integers \(n\)?
Let’s call a natural number good if in its decimal record we have the numbers 1, 9, 7, 3 in succession, and bad if otherwise. (For example, the number 197,639,917 is bad and the number 116,519,732 is good.) Prove that there exists a positive integer \(n\) such that among all \(n\)-digit numbers (from \(10^{n-1}\) to \(10^{n-1}\)) there are more good than bad numbers.
Try to find the smallest possible \(n\).