You are watching a swarm of N fireflies. Each firefly moves along a straight line at a constant speed. You stand at the origin (0,0,0) of space. All fireflies have the same mass, and you want to know how close the center of the swarm comes to you.
You know the position and the velocity of every firefly at time t=0, and only times t≥0 matter. Velocities never change, and a firefly passes freely through anything, including the other fireflies and you. Let M(t) be the center of mass of the N fireflies at time t, and let d(t) be the distance between the origin and M(t). Find the minimum value dmin of d(t) over t≥0, and the earliest time tmin with d(tmin)=dmin.