The discussion centers on the physics of dropping a food packet from a helicopter during a flood relief mission. Participants clarify that the packet does not fall straight down due to the horizontal velocity of the helicopter, which must be accounted for when determining the drop distance. The correct approach involves treating the drop as a projectile motion problem, where the initial horizontal velocity of the packet matches that of the helicopter. The confusion arises from misinterpreting the position of the victims relative to the helicopter's flight path.
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hmmm...dropping something doesn't require force instead it is taking our force back which we were exerting by holding it.so in throwing case initial velocity can not be zero?Doc Al said:Just drop something from rest, don't throw it.
gracy said:hmmm...dropping something doesn't require force instead it is taking our force back which we were exerting by holding it.so in throwing case initial velocity can not be zero?
Newton's first law of motion -An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.how this can help me to get the answer of my question -in throwing case initial velocity can not be zero?MayCaesar said:Recall the First Newton's Law. It says something about inertial systems. Try to apply it to this problem. What inertial system would you consider using in this particular case?
Hint: try to find a system in which velocity of the dropping package will be easy to determine.
Hint 2: assume that air resistance is negligible, zero. What does it imply?
Suppose you are standing in your room holding an apple. You drop an apple on the floor by just opening your palm, without any additional motion. What is the initial vertical velocity of the apple? What is the initial horizontal velocity?gracy said:Newton's first law of motion -An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.how this can help me to get the answer of my question -in throwing case initial velocity can not be zero?
zero.MayCaesar said:Suppose you are standing in your room holding an apple. You drop an apple on the floor by just opening your palm, without any additional motion. What is the initial vertical velocity of the apple? What is the initial horizontal velocity?
initial horizontal velocity=that constant velocity with which the helicopter was moving.initial vertical velocity=zeroMayCaesar said:Now, suppose you are standing in a helicopter moving to the east at a constant velocity. You drop an apple on the floor inside helicopter. What are the initial vertical and horizontal velocities in your frame system (connected to the helicopter)?
yes, it starts from rest, right?gracy said:zero.
Yes, in that case the initial vertical velocity is zero but the horizontal initial velocity relative to the helicopter is also zero. The initial horizontal velocity relative to the ground is vox. When the package is dropped from the helicopter, the package is no more tied to the coordinate system of the helicopter but instead it is tied to the coordinate system of the Earth and we assume the surface of the Earth to be completely level when the distance traveled is "very small".gracy said:initial horizontal velocity=that constant velocity with which the helicopter was moving.initial vertical velocity=zero
You don't have to throw it down to cause the ball to fall because the force of gravity causes the object to accelerate towards the Earth as you are no more providing the normal force to counter gravity.gracy said:dropping something doesn't require force instead it is taking our force back which we were exerting by holding