This is a completely hypothetical question.. If a 400 lb flying beast was arcing towards a gunman, flying at a speed of 60 mph from a distance of 30 feet, would a slug from a .63 LeMat revolver that blew off its head change the trajectory of the flight?
2006-11-02 10:03:41 · 2 answers · asked by sincarnato 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The force applied to the beast (by the bullet) would have to be calculated by the angle/arc of it's descent, this new force differential may cause a new vector. ie If it was falling straight down and you fired straight up...no change.....if it were coming in at 45^ angle down, the bullets force will slow it slightly, and it's arc down will have increased due to the continuing force of gravity...with less momentum. That is...also only if the head stays attached....if not then...the two bodies must be calculaated by the individual resistance/force of the bullet.... In the end...take one step to the right...after your shot...and watch out for falling bits and pieces.
2006-11-02 10:20:09 · answer #1 · answered by baron_von_sky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
Momentum is mass times velocity.
The beast is going at about 30m/s and has a mass of about 200kg
The bullet is going at about 1000m/s and has a mass of about .01kg
This means the beast's momentum is about 6000kgm/s and the bullet's momentum is about 10 kgm/s.
mometum is conserved. This means that after the bullet and the beast collide, whatever is left has the same momentum as the two things did before the collision. The beast's momentum is about 600 times bigger than the bullet's. The net momentum of the system is determined by amost completely by the beast's movement. I don't care what the angles are, the beast's trajectory is not going to be affected in a noticable way.
By the way, I'm not sure about the numbers I chose, but they are reasonable. And, as you can see, it does not really matter. The bullet would have to be much bigger for it do make a difference.
2006-11-02 11:43:44 · answer #2 · answered by Shadow Fish 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋