If I dropped a bullet and shot one from a gun that is held perfectly horizontal, will these bullets reach the ground at the same time? In other words: Will the horizontal force acting on the bullet fired make a difference on the time it takes to reach the ground?
2006-09-23 11:26:27 · 19 answers · asked by jandtoit 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
By all known laws of physics, both bullets should hit the ground at exactly the same time, ignoring any effects caused by the atmosphere and presuming the earth would be flat.
But due to the cat the surface of the earth is curved and the shot bullet can travel up to three km before it touches ground, it also has to "follow" that curve. so to speak in comparison to the location of the shot the landing point for the shot will be slightly lower than the landing point for the dropped one. Thus the shot one actually touches the ground a tiny little period of time later. But ... the difference will be so tiny we wouldn't notice it without highly sophisticated equipment.
So the general answer is simply they both hit ground at the same time.
If there was a gun with a power to let the bullet travel, let's say over 20 miles ... then, of course, it would be (technically significant) later, the shot one hits the ground. But as already explained above, this is only due to the curved surface.
Expressed by laws of physics: The gravity is the same, whether is a horizontal acceleration or not, so both bodies will fall at the same velocity and therefore hit the ground at the same time.
You hopefully understand now the difference betwenn this law of gravity and the quite special circumstances on earth, that are likely to falsify the result.
2006-09-23 12:03:46 · answer #1 · answered by jhstha 4 · 2⤊ 4⤋
If you ignore aerodynamic issues, then yes it will reach the ground at the same time.
The reason I say this is because if a bullet without a horizontal velocity is released, it will rotate so that it is in the most aerodynamic position. A bullet fired out of a gun on the other hand sees the airflow differently, so the drag acting on the bullet caused by the air is going to be different.
If we were to ignore the effect of air, then yes, they would impact the ground at the same time since the horizontal force only acts horizontally.
2006-09-23 11:29:37 · answer #2 · answered by polloloco.rb67 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Hehehehehehehehe. There are a surprising number of people whose ratio of fecal mass to total body mass is rapidly approaching unity ☺
For openers, since the rifeling in a barrel imparts a spin to the bullet (to provide gyroscopic stability and prevent it from 'tumbling' as soon as it leaves the crown of the muzzle), there is *no* aerodynamic 'lift' imparted to a bullet.
Secondly, if a bullet were fired (say, on the Moon), and its velocity was great enough, it *would* hit you in the back. But that 'great enough' velocity has a name: orbital velocity. If it's velocity is sub-orbital, it will strike the surface at the same time as the bullet that's dropped since the acceleration of the Moons gravity is always acting in the 'down' direction. Even if it had enough initial velocity to travel half way around the moon (and, of course, assuming that the Moon was a perfectly smooth, round, sphere ☺) the direction of the Moons gravity is still 'down' in the local sense.
The simple answer is yes, they'll hit the ground at the same time and no, the horizontal velocity makes no difference at all so long as it's sub-orbital.
Doug
2006-09-23 11:55:14 · answer #3 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Most would say that the two would hit at the same time. This is often used as an example, but the results depends upon two things. The first is how much you are willing to ignore the effects of the air upon the experiment.
The second is the location. Look at an example of a horizontal rifle fired on the moon. No air to interfere, but also a greater curvature. The effect of this is almost like shooting the bullet up. As it travels horizontally, the surface of the moon would "drop" due to the curvature. The fired bullet would hit after the dropped one.
2006-09-23 11:40:10 · answer #4 · answered by Richard 7 · 8⤊ 3⤋
Absolutely no - simple physics really - the force of gravity remains constant and acts in an identical manner to both objects however you are inducing a horizontal force with the addition of the gunpowder propellant. If you plotted a graph of height against time the dropped bullet would hit the ground almost instantly within seconds whereas the fired bullet would need to use up horizontal force until vertical force was greater and this would plot an arc shaped graph therefore it could be deduced that over time the vertical forces take effect later on the fired bullet than the dropped bullet - makes sense !!!!
2006-09-23 12:01:22 · answer #5 · answered by Kev R at work need beer 3 · 0⤊ 6⤋
I'm quite certain the answer is no.
considering the explosive force given to the bullet from the gun it will travel almost horizontally until the energy begins to run out then gravity will begin to act upon the bullet causing it to arc toward the ground. as no other force other than gravity is exerted on the bullet dropped vertically it will always hit the ground first! such is this theory that no matter the height of the fired gun the dropped bullet will always hit the ground first.
So much so that if you were hypothetically high enough shooting the bullet horizontally would result in it circling the earth, never falling to the ground. This is how satellites are put into orbit, given enough horizontal force to begin with at the right height means they continue to circle without falling! long winded but hopefully helpful
2006-09-23 11:38:12 · answer #6 · answered by trustinthetruth 2 · 1⤊ 8⤋
Ignoring earth curvature / irregularities and the TINY amount of lift* generated by the shape of the bullet, then yes.
* Not actually lift, but the dropped bullet will impact / displace less air so MAY return to earth marginally faster than the one that is kept 'suspended' longer by the viscocity (I know wrong word) of the air it passes through.
2006-09-23 11:30:38 · answer #7 · answered by creviazuk 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
No. Because even if the gun is fired horizontally the bullet will rise first. Due to the sights the barrel is always pointed slightly upwards, meaning the bullet will in effect have slightly further to fall. And will therefore hit the ground slightly after the dropped one.
2006-09-23 11:48:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 6⤋
The shape of the bullet may give it a small ammount of lift, like a paper plane but I doubt it, you would need a strange shaped bullet for that to happen.
2006-09-23 11:29:47 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Assuming no other forces affect either fall (which is what physics usually does) they will both accelerate towards the ground at 9.81 m/s^2, meaning they would hit the ground at the same time.
2006-09-23 11:34:44 · answer #10 · answered by p_rutherford2003 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋