Consider a gun of mass M (when unloaded) that fires a shell of mass m with muzzle speed v. (That is, the shell's speed relative to the gun is v.) Assuming that the gun is completely free to recoil (no external forces on gun or shell), use conservation of momentum to show that the shell's speed relative to the ground is v /(1 m/M).
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Textbook Solutions for Classical Mechanics
Question
[Computer] A grenade is thrown with initial velocity \(v_0\) from the origin at the top of a high cliff, subject to negligible air resistance. (a) Using a suitable plotting program, plot the orbit, with the following parameters: \(\mathbf{v}_{\mathrm{o}}=(4,4),g=1\), and \(0\le t\le4\) (and with \(x\) measured horizontally and \(y\) vertically up). Add to your plot suitable marks (dots or crosses, for example) to show the positions of the grenade at \(t=1,2,3,4\). (b) At \(t = 4\), when the grenade's velocity is \(v\), it explodes into two equal pieces, one of which moves off with velocity \(\mathbf{v}+\Delta\mathbf{v}\). What is the velocity of the other piece? (c) Assuming that \(\Delta\mathbf{v}=(1,3)\), add to your original plot the paths of the two pieces for \(4\le t\le9\). Insert marks to show their positions at \(t=5,6,7,8,9\). Find some way to show clearly that the CM of the two pieces continues to follow the original parabolic path.
Solution
Step 1 of 6
The equation of motion in case of vertical displacement is given by,
Here is the vertical component of the initial velocity,
is the time and
is the acceleration due to gravity.
The equation of motion in case of horizontal displacement is given by,
Here is the horizontal component of the initial velocity.
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