Resumen de D. Pedro Abellanas y la falsa moneda

Tomás Jesús Recio Muñiz , Luis Miguel Pardo Vasallo

• This paper, dedicated to the memory of prof. Abellanas, deals with a classical problem in recreative mathematics (how to identify a false coin with a small number of weight comparisons). We develop a less common point of view on this problem, namely, its connection with lower complexity bounds in theoretical computer science. A natural technique appearing here is that of semialgebraic geometry, a subject that was introduced in Spain by prof. Abellanas. A short survey of results and some open problems are discussed in the paper, addressed to the non-specialist in the subject.