Calculating the motion of a frisbee disc?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SuicideSteve
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Disc Motion
AI Thread Summary
Calculating the motion of a Frisbee or disc golf disc involves considering variables such as the initial velocity, throw angle, air pressure, and the gyroscopic effect of the spinning disc. The discussion highlights the importance of these factors in predicting the flight path and landing location of the disc. Additionally, the impact of design differences, like the pitch down torque in traditional Frisbees versus the Aerobie's design to minimize such torque, is noted. There is interest in developing a computer program to approximate the disc's flight distance based on these variables. Overall, the feasibility of accurately predicting Frisbee motion is acknowledged, emphasizing the complexity of the dynamics involved.
SuicideSteve
Messages
24
Reaction score
0
I just got back from playing a round of Frisbee or Disc Golf at my local course and it got me thinking... assuming that there is no wind and standard pressure, would it be possible to predict the motion of the flying disc? to predict where it will land? it's flight path?
so far I have determined that the variables would be velocity and angle the disc was thrown at, the pressure on the disc made by the air foil, the gyroscopic effect of the spinning disc... Anything I'm missing?
I think it would be fun to make a computer program that could approximate the distance the disc flew based on the disc's dimensions and and the above variables... do you think its reasonable?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
For a normal Frisbee, there's usually a pitch down torque that results in a roll response. As an alternative, an Aerobie is designed to eliminate the pitch torque and roll response (you "tune" it by bending it slightly concave or convex to get it near flat).
 

Thread '1:1 versus 2:1 Mechanical Advantage debate'

The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
View full post »

Thread 'Newton's first law?'

Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?
View full post »
Thread 'Beam on an inclined plane'

Thread 'Beam on an inclined plane'

Hello! I have a question regarding a beam on an inclined plane. I was considering a beam resting on two supports attached to an inclined plane. I was almost sure that the lower support must be more loaded. My imagination about this problem is shown in the picture below. Here is how I wrote the condition of equilibrium forces: $$ \begin{cases} F_{g\parallel}=F_{t1}+F_{t2}, \\ F_{g\perp}=F_{r1}+F_{r2} \end{cases}. $$ On the other hand...
View full post »

Similar threads

Predicting the behaviour of a closed circular airfoil
Replies
8
Views
2K
Coriolis Force and the Earth's Rotation,
Replies
14
Views
3K
Modeling the flight of a frisbee
Replies
4
Views
5K
The Mystery of Frisbee Motion??
Replies
9
Views
5K
Mathematica Aerodynamics: Mathematically Modeling the Flight of an Object
Replies
11
Views
10K
Mathematica Aerodynamics: Mathematically Modeling the Flight of an Object
Replies
2
Views
3K
MATLAB Frisbee flight in Matlab, can't run (Input argument x is undefined)
Replies
5
Views
5K
A Modeling the damping of a physical rigid pendulum
Replies
1
Views
2K
Drag equation using wind to create 3d graph
Replies
7
Views
2K
Projectile Motion in 3D: Calculating Landing Spot and Launching Angle
Replies
3
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top