Projectile in Physics : Projectile is a very interesting part of physics. Projectile is a specific calculation of Motion. We have all noticed how a ball moves towards gallery after a batsman strikes it with the bat. The movement of the ball is neither like liner motion nor circular motion. We can definitely say that the path of the ball moving towards the gallery is not liner. Its more of a parabolic one. The movement is two dimensional.
A projectile is that any object which, after being projected or dropped, continues to move due to its own inertia and is solely impacted by gravity’s downward pull. If another force were working on an object, it would not be considered a projectile.
The free-body diagram of a projectile remains the same whether it is going downwards, upwards, upwards and rightwards, or downwards and leftwards. A projectile is any item on which the main force acting is gravity.
A projectile is any object on which gravity is the sole force acting. Due to gravity’s effect, projectiles follow a parabolic trajectory. Projectiles experience no horizontal forces and consequently no horizontal acceleration. A projectile’s horizontal velocity is constant (a never changing in value). Gravity causes a vertical acceleration of 9.8 m/s/s, which is downward. A projectile’s vertical velocity varies by 9.8 meters per second. A projectile’s horizontal motion is independent of its vertical motion.
Lets consider a cannonball shot from the top of a steep cliff by a cannon. Assume the cannonball is fired horizontally, with no upward inclination, at a speed of ten meters per second. If gravity did not exist, the projectile would continue to travel horizontally at 10 m/s.
The projectile, however, accelerates downhill at a velocity of 9.8 m/s/s due to gravity. This indicates that every second, the vertical velocity changes by 9.8 m/s. If a vector diagram is utilized to illustrate how the x- and y-components of the cannonball’s velocity change with time, then x- and y-velocity vectors might be generated and analyzed. The magnitudes of that quantity are represented by the lengths of the vector arrows. A schematic like this is presented below.
The horizontal velocity remains constant throughout the flight, whereas the vertical velocity varies by 9.8 m/s per second, as seen in the following vector graphic. A table depicting how the x- and y-components of velocity change with time might be used to illustrate these two principles.
| Time (second) | Vertical Component of Velocity (ms-1) | Height from the ground (m) | Horizontal Component of Velocity (ms-1) |
| t | Vy=-(-9.8 x t) | H=122.5-((Vy x t)-(.5 x 9.8 x t2) | Vx |
| 0 | 0 | 122.5 | 10 |
| 1 | 9.8 | 117.6 | 10 |
| 2 | 19.6 | 102.9 | 10 |
| 3 | 29.4 | 78.4 | 10 |
| 4 | 39.2 | 44.1 | 10 |
| 5 | 49 | 0 | 10 |
If the projectile is propelled at an angle to the horizontal, some calculations will be a bit different. The horizontal velocity will remain the same while the projectile is thrown at an angle to the horizontal and vertical velocity will firstly decrease for the half of the time and later will increase for the rest half.
The graphical representation of a projectile thrown with a specific angle will be different from the previous one we discussed. As the initial velocity is angled with the horizontal, it got two components, horizontal and vertical which will be the x component and y component respectively. We can mention the initial velocity as V0 and its two component be V0x and V0y. If the angle of projection is θ degree, the V0x= V cosθ, and V0y= V sinθ
As the time proceeds, due to the gravitational acceleration, the Vy changes eventually. We know that V=V0+at where V is final velocity , V0 is initial velocity, a is the acceleration and t is time. So, with time, the vertical component of the projection velocity will be, Vy=Vy0-gt. At the maximum height, the Vy becomes 0. and after that, it again increase as the gravitational is still working on the object. And after reaching the max height, the vertical component will be, Vy=Vy0+gt. Throughout the whole path, the horizontal component remains the same. As there is no kind of force or acceleration is working. It takes half time to reach the maximum height.
In the case of this type of projection, the projection angle must be less than 90 degrees. If it is more than 90 degrees, the fine angle obtained by subtracting the angle from 180 degrees will be considered.
The distance that a palace travels horizontally is called the horizontal scale. The highest horizontal value is obtained when the projection is 45 degrees.
In our daily life, there are different uses of projectile. In the case of military aircraft, remote bombing, archery targeting, ball bounce on the golf course, cricket volleyball, etc., the maximum height of the ball and the cross range are used.
Read more:
- Newtonian Mechanics
- Calculus in Physics
- Vector Physics and its Classification
- Dot and cross multiplication of vector and its application
- Quantum Physics – What, Why, How?
- Physics – What, Why, How?
- Physical Quantities: SCALAR and Vector Physics
