Drag acting on ball the moment it bounces

  • #1
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Homework Statement



Suppose a very light ball is thrown at a wall.

The wall may be thought of as an xy-plane.

At the moment the ball hits the wall, does it have 0 velocity in the x, y and z directions?

Is drag on the ball (in each respective direction) small enough to be ignored at the moment the ball hits the wall?


Homework Equations



D ~ (Av^2)/4

The Attempt at a Solution



I think the ball momentarily has 0 velocity in the z-axis since the ball is changing direction along this axis.

I think the ball will be slowed in the x and y axes at the moment it hits the wall, but its velocity in these directions will not equal zero at that instant.

Therefore, drag can only be ignored in the z-direction.
 
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  • #2
The actual collision with the wall takes place very quickly. Drag in any direction is so small that it can be ignored.
 
  • #3
Thanks.

Theoretically, is it correct to say that there is no drag in the z-axis at the moment of collision when the ball has zero velocity in the z direction? And that drag is present in the x and y axes at the moment of collision?
 
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