- #1
geoff.miles
- 6
- 0
Hey guys, I'm new to these forums so I am unsure if this is the right place to be posting this, but here it goes.
I have been working on a drag spread sheet using OpenOffice Calc to predict where a potato will land when fired from a potato gun.
I have gotten pretty far along, using:
projectile mass (kg)
launch angle (degrees)
initial velocity (m/s)
temperature (Fahrenheit) [this number is then converted to both Kelvin and Celsius]
humidity (%)
air pressure (InHg)
barrel radius (m)[which is used to determine cross-sectional area]
And projectile shape [which is used to determine Cd]
After typing in all of this information into the corresponding cells the spread sheet then does all the math and displays the projectiles flight path.
But what I am working on adding is wind, so I can add a 3rd, z axis, to my graph. I am not far along enough in my physics class to know how to do this, and I am not patient enough to wait to hear back from my physics professor on how to do this.
I know using a potato is a problem on its own because there are too many variables to account for, so I am planing on having a more stable projectile printed for me out of abs plastic.
Any help would be great.
Here is a link where you can find my spreadsheet and see it for yourself:
http://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=60186
FYI: This is not a homework assignment, I started working on this my senior year of high school and now that I am in college I have the resources to finish it.
I have been working on a drag spread sheet using OpenOffice Calc to predict where a potato will land when fired from a potato gun.
I have gotten pretty far along, using:
projectile mass (kg)
launch angle (degrees)
initial velocity (m/s)
temperature (Fahrenheit) [this number is then converted to both Kelvin and Celsius]
humidity (%)
air pressure (InHg)
barrel radius (m)[which is used to determine cross-sectional area]
And projectile shape [which is used to determine Cd]
After typing in all of this information into the corresponding cells the spread sheet then does all the math and displays the projectiles flight path.
But what I am working on adding is wind, so I can add a 3rd, z axis, to my graph. I am not far along enough in my physics class to know how to do this, and I am not patient enough to wait to hear back from my physics professor on how to do this.
I know using a potato is a problem on its own because there are too many variables to account for, so I am planing on having a more stable projectile printed for me out of abs plastic.
Any help would be great.
Here is a link where you can find my spreadsheet and see it for yourself:
http://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=60186
FYI: This is not a homework assignment, I started working on this my senior year of high school and now that I am in college I have the resources to finish it.