exp-ProbNeedle.lisp

;; -*- Mode:Lisp; Syntax:ANSI-Common-LISP; Coding:us-ascii-unix; fill-column:158 -*-
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;
;; @file      exp-ProbNeedle.lisp
;; @author    Mitch Richling <https://www.mitchr.me>
;; @brief     Buffon's Needle Problem.@EOL
;; @std       Common Lisp
;; @copyright 
;;  @parblock
;;  Copyright (c) 2005,2015, Mitchell Jay Richling <https://www.mitchr.me> All rights reserved.
;;
;;  Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
;;
;;  1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer.
;;
;;  2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer in the documentation
;;     and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
;;
;;  3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
;;     without specific prior written permission.
;;
;;  THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
;;  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
;;  LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
;;  OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
;;  LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
;;  DAMAGE.
;;  @endparblock
;; @filedetails
;;
;;  Drop a 1 unit long needle onto a plane with lines 1 unit apart.  Compute the probability that the needle hits some line.
;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

(loop with num-trials = (expt 10 6)                         ;; Number of trials to perform
      with num-hit = 0                                      ;; Number of needle hits (updated during simulation)
      for cur-trial from 1 upto num-trials                  ;; Primary loop control (cur-trial has current trial count)
      for a = (random (/ pi 2))                             ;; Compute a random angle between 0 and 90 degrees
      for p = (- 1 (sin a))                                 ;; Compute probability a needle at this angle misses
      for r = (random 1.0d0)                                ;; Compute a random number between 0 and 1
      do (if (> r p) (incf num-hit))                        ;; Did the needle hit?  If so, increment num-hit
      when (zerop (mod cur-trial (truncate num-trials 20))) ;; If we are on a 5% mark, then print
      do (let ((a-prob (/ num-hit cur-trial)))              ;; Compute approximate probability
           (format 't "~20,10f ~20,10f~%"                   ;; Print partial results:
                   a-prob (abs (- a-prob (/ 2 pi))))))      ;;   Approximate probability & Error from theoretical value