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As a simple illustration of the concepts introduced What is the initial vector velocity with which the
in the previous subsections, let us examine the
following problem. Suppose that a projectile is
projectile is launched into the air at (say) ?
As illustrated in Fig. 16, given that the magnitude of
illustrated in Fig. 16. The -axis points vertically of take the form
upwards (this is a standard convention), whereas
(71
the -axis points along the projectile's initial )
direction of horizontal motion. Furthermore, the
origin of our coordinate system corresponds to the
(74
)
(75
)
projectile's acceleration along the -axis, and the The maximum altitude of the projectile is
projectile's initial velocity also has zero component
(76
)
is obtained when the projectile is launched
(77
)
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58 m/s, Exoatmosph
pistol 1.7 speed ~33000 f ~22000 ~ 50
208.8 190 ft/s 130 mph eric Kill
crossbow kJ/kg roughly t/s mph MJ/kg
km/h Vehicle
bolt 10 km/s
Trajectories of three objects thrown at the same [edit] Range and height
angle (70°). The black object doesn't experience The range, R, is the greatest distance the object
any form of drag and moves along a parabola. The travels along the x-axis in the I sector. The initial
blue object experiences Stokes' drag, and the green velocity, vi, is the speed at which said object is
object Newton drag. launched from the point of origin. The initial
angle, θi, is the angle at which said object is
The ideal case of motion of a projectile in a uniform released. The g is the respective gravitational pull
gravitational field, in the absence of other on the object within a null-medium.
forces(such as air drag), was first investigated by
Galileo Galilei. To neglect the action of the
atmosphere, in shaping a trajectory, would have
been considered a futile hypothesis by practical
minded investigators, all through the Middle Ages in
Europe. Nevertheless, by anticipating the existence
The height, h, is the greatest parabolic height said
of the vacuum, later to be demonstrated on Earth
object reaches within its trajectory
by his collaborator Evangelista Torricelli[citation needed],
Galileo was able to initiate the future science of
mechanics.[citation needed] And in a near vacuum, as it
turns out for instance on the Moon, his simplified
parabolic trajectory proves essentially correct.
In the analysis that follows we derive the equation [edit] Angle of elevation
of motion of a projectile as measured from an
inertial frame, at rest with respect to the ground, to In terms of angle of elevation θ and initial speed v:
which frame is associated a right-hand co-ordinate
system - the origin of which coincides with the point
of launch of the projectile. The x-axis is parallel to
the ground and the y axis perpendicular to it giving the range as
( parallel to the gravitational field lines ). Let g be
the acceleration of gravity. Relative to the flat
terrain, let the initial horizontal speed be vh =
vcos(θ) and the initial vertical speed be vv =
vsin(θ). It will also be shown that, the range is 2vhvv This equation can be rearranged to find the angle
for a required range
/ g, and the maximum altitude is ; The
maximum range, for a given initial speed v, is
obtained when vh = vv, i.e. the initial angle is 45
degrees. This range is v2 / g, and the maximum (Equation II: angle of
altitude at the maximum range is a quarter of that. projectile launch)
[edit] Derivation of the equation of motion Note that the sine function is such that there are
two solutions for θ for a given range dh. Physically,
Assume the motion of the projective is being this corresponds to a direct shot versus a mortar
measured from a Free fall frame which happens to shot up and over obstacles to the target. The angle
be at (x,y)=(0,0) at t=0. The equation of motion of θ giving the maximum range can be found by
the projectile in this frame ( by the principle of considering the derivative or R with respect to θ
equivalence) would be y = xtan(θ). The co- and setting it to zero.
ordinates of this free-fall frame, with respect to our
inertial frame would be y = − gt2 / 2. That is, y = −
g(x / vh)2 / 2.
which has a non trivial solutions at
Equation 11 may also be used to develop the
. The maximum range is then "rifleman's rule" for small values of α and θ (i.e.
close to horizontal firing, which is the case for many
. At this angle sin(π / 2) = 1 so the firearm situations). For small values, both tanα and
tanθ have a small value and thus when multiplied
together (as in equation 11), the result is almost
zero. Thus equation 11 may be approximated as:
maximum height obtained is .
To find the angle giving the maximum height for a
given speed calculate the derivative of the
maximum height H = v2sin(θ) / (2g) with respect to
And solving for level terrain range, R
when . So the maximum height Thus if the shooter attempts to hit the level
distance R, s/he will actually hit the slant target. "In
other words, pretend that the inclined target is at a
horizontal distance equal to the slant range
distance multiplied by the cosine of the inclination
is obtained when the projectile is fired
angle, and aim as if the target were really at that
straight up.
horizontal position."[1]
[edit] Uphill/downhill in uniform gravity in a
[edit] Derivation based on equations of a
vacuum
parabola
Given a hill angle α and launch angle θ as before, it
The intersect of the projectile trajectory with a hill
can be shown that the range along the hill Rs forms
may most easily be derived using the trajectory in
a ratio with the original range R along the
parabolic form in Cartesian coordinates (Equation
imaginary horizontal, such that:
10) intersecting the hill of slope m in standard
linear form at coordinates (x,y):
In this equation, downhill occurs when α is between Substituting the value of dv = mdh into Equation 10:
0 and -90 degrees. For this range of α we know:
tan( − α) = − tanα and sec( − α) = secα. Thus for
this range of α, Rs / R = (1 + tanθtanα)secα. Thus
Rs / R is a positive value meaning the range
downhill is always further than along level terrain.
The lower level of terrain causes the projectile to
remain in the air longer, allowing it to travel further
horizontally before hitting the ground.
While the same equation applies to projectiles fired (Solving
uphill, the interpretation is more complex as above x)
sometimes the uphill range may be shorter or
longer than the equivalent range along level This value of x may be substituted back into the
terrain. Equation 11 may be set to Rs / R = 1 (i.e. linear equation 12 to get the corresponding y
the slant range is equal to the level terrain range) coordinate at the intercept:
and solving for the "critical angle" θcr:
and provided much of the motivation for the
development of differential calculus.
Range of a projectile
Now this can be refactored and the trigonometric • v: the velocity at which the projectile is
launched
• y0: the initial height of the projectile
identity for may be used:
• d: the total horizontal distance travelled by
the projectile
When neglecting air resistance, the range of a
projectile will be
[edit] Derivations
[edit] Uneven Ground
[edit] Flat Ground
Now we will allow (y0) to be nonzero. Our equations
First we examine the case where (y0) is zero. The of motion are now
horizontal position (x(t)) of the projectile is
and
In the vertical direction
By applying the quadratic formula Again by applying the quadratic formula we find
two solutions for the time. After several steps of
algebraic manipulation
or
Applying the trigonometric identity Solving for the range once again