Homework help: Dropping a sand bag from a Hot Air Balloon

  • Thread starter Thread starter Clockclocle
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    equation Free fall
Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the physics of dropping a sandbag from a hot air balloon, specifically focusing on the implications of the balloon's initial velocity on the sandbag's motion. The subject area includes concepts of free fall and relative motion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore whether the initial velocity of the balloon should be considered in the free fall equation of the sandbag. They question the assumptions about the scenario being equivalent to dropping the bag from rest at a certain height.

Discussion Status

Some participants have recognized the importance of the balloon's velocity in determining the sandbag's trajectory. There is an ongoing examination of how different initial velocities affect the motion of the sandbag, with no explicit consensus reached yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants are considering the implications of varying initial conditions, such as the balloon's speed at the moment of release, and how these affect the analysis of the problem.

Clockclocle
Messages
31
Reaction score
1
Homework Statement
Suppose an air baloon keep raising with constant velocity v0, at time t=0 the sand bag attached to it drop at rest.
Relevant Equations
y=vo-1/2gt^2
In this situation should my free fall equation contain the v0 of the balloon or I should deny it. Because it seems to me that there is no outer force acts on the sandbag, so the scenario is just the same as I climb to the same height at time t=0 and drop the sandbag at rest.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Clockclocle said:
so the scenario is just the same as I climb to the same height at time t=0 and drop the sandbag at rest.
What if the balloon is rising at the speed of a rifle bullet? You are riding on the balloon holding the sandbag in your hand and let it go.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Clockclocle
I see the mistake, I thought that it gonna fall below me so it would be the same when I stand still. But in this case I keep moving with velocity v0.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: jbriggs444
Clockclocle said:
##\dots## so the scenario is just the same as I climb to the same height at time t=0 and drop the sandbag at rest.
The acceleration is the same not the scenario. In the first case the velocity of the bag relative to the ground is the same as that of the balloon whilst in the second case it is zero. Different initial velocities mean different free fall trajectories.
 
Last edited:
  • Love
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: MatinSAR and Delta2

Similar threads

  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
4K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
10K
Replies
5
Views
6K
Replies
7
Views
4K
Replies
17
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
10K
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
7K
Replies
1
Views
2K