http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a881216b.html
With regards to the classic Cecil column where he was asked about a fired bullet and a dropped bullet which would hit the ground first, to wit he replied, “it depends.”
This brought immages of my old Canadian physics class and episodes of David Letterman. My point being it seems that the problem is done from ground level that is to say in the middle of a field or something.
However, and this is where being Canadian comes in, in our old high school physics class we used to check these things like Galileo and Newton, against ideas of the pitch of a baseball or objects like that.
One Cunundrum I never seemed to figure was if you had say Roger Clemons fire a ball while someone drops a ball at the same time which would hit the ground first. Now to take this to another level or two. What if the starting point were someplace like the top of the CN Tower which ball would land first? Now comes my twist on the arguement. We have gravity acting directly without influence on one ball and with influence on the other ball. What if instead of shot out if it were shot down since the energy in the pitch has to dispell (I know that’s the wrong term I just can’t think of the correct one) which would hit first of the balls or bullets from that distance? All this from old Mr.Booker’s and Mr.Taylor’s highschool physics class.
You Lost me
<< CN Tower which ball would land first? >>
probally not an important factor but what the heck is the CN tower, I assume it is a tall one.
<< Now just can’t think of the correct one) which comes my twist on the arguement. We have gravity acting directly without influence on one ball and with influence on the other ball. >>
How is gravity not acting on one, gravity should be acting on everything? Even at great distances there is a gravity force, maby very small but still there
<< What if instead of shot out if it were shot down since the energy in the pitch has to dispell >>
If an object were shot down it would just have a initial velocity, gravity would still pull it down and air resistance would push it up, the 2 forces would establish a terminal velocity either greater or less then the initial velocity, but even in freefall gravity is still there
Did I totally miss your point???
[[ Note: I have edited this post to restore the quotations. People, people, if you use less-than < and greater-than > to post, be sure to leave a SPACE between the symbol and the first letter (or last letter, respectively.) Otherwise, the text doesn’t print. – CKDextHavn ]]
[Note: This message has been edited by CKDextHavn]
For humanly horizontal velocities, and a vacuuum, the balls would hit the ground at about the same time. The horizontal and vertical components of the ball’s motion are independent of each other. In the real world, the ball’s spin, the air currents around the CN tower, and the curvature of the earth can cause some variability in the transit time. Curvature only comes into play if the velocity is quite high.
[[ Note: I have edited this post to restore the quotations. People, people, if you use less-than < and greater-than > to post, be sure to leave a SPACE between the symbol and the first letter (or last letter, respectively.) Otherwise, the text doesn’t print. – CKDextHavn ]]
Thanks, CKD. People can safely use the [[brackets]] too, like CKD did above.
One thing to remember in this experiment, is that we are assuming the “firing gun” is absolutely horizontal. If the firing gun is pointed ever so slightly downward, then there is a downward acceleration IN ADDITION TO gravity so that one will hit the ground before the other.
CKD,
You might want to edit this to say “downward velocity.” Feel free to delete this post as well.