The assertion that a bullet fired horizontally from a gun would hit the ground at the same time as a bullet that was just dropped (Fri 18th Feb 2011) was wrong.
It is tempting to believe but it doesn't take into account what could be described as the orbit or satellite effect. In essence because of the distance the bullet travels the curvature of the earth means the ground falls away. It is one simple explanation of why satellites stay in orbit.
Boring and tedious just about sums me up.
Shame SF's advisors didn't spot this.
Remember: No one loves a smart arse.
H.
Falling Bullet vs Fired Bullet
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harrysales |
Posted Sat Feb 19th, 2011 10:05pm Post subject: Falling Bullet vs Fired Bullet
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KrossX |
Posted Sat Feb 26th, 2011 6:44pm Post subject: Falling Bullet vs Fired Bullet
In the vacuum and on a plane surface, it's true. Since both elements would have the same Y component, and would reach y=0 at the same time. In a real life scenario however, I don't know if the range of a handgun would be long enough to consider the effect of the planet's curvature. |
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atompkins101 |
Posted Sun Apr 3rd, 2011 6:46pm Post subject: Falling Bullet vs Fired Bullet
Should check out Mythbusters testing this, They did it with a handgun in a warehouse to try and minimise drag. I think the results were that within a slight margin of error they hit the ground at the same time |
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