Kinematics Problem: Find Constant Separation of Ships

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a kinematics problem involving two ships, A and B, moving at constant speed along a coastline. Ship A moves perpendicularly to the coastline, while Ship B's velocity vector points towards Ship A. The goal is to determine the constant separation distance, denoted as γ, after both ships align in a straight line. The user attempts to derive the relationship using trigonometric functions and expresses difficulty in formulating the necessary differential equations to solve the problem.

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  • Basic knowledge of differential equations and their applications
  • Concept of relative velocity in physics
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Homework Statement


There are two ships separated by a distance [tex]\gamma[/tex] along a straight coastline. Ship A starts moving perpendicularly to the coastline , and Ship B moves such that its velocity vector always point along the position of Ship A.
Both ships move at same constant speed. After sufficient time, both the ships will move in a straight line with a constant separation. Find this separation.

2. MY ATTEMPT

First, i assumed the constant speed to be v
and let, after time T, both of them move in a straight line.
and let [tex]\theta[/tex] be the angle that the velocity vector of ship B makes with that of the other. ([tex]\theta[/tex] is variable from [itex]\pi / 2 \ \rightarrow \ 0[/itex] ) . I feel [itex]tan\theta \ = \ \frac{\gamma}{vt}[/itex]

Then [tex]\gamma \ = \ v \ sin \theta \times T[/tex]
and [tex]x \ = \ T (v-vcos \theta)[/tex]

x= constant separation when ships are in a straight line

The problem is, I am unable to get differential equations which i should. How do i convert the known data into differential form ?

Any help is appreciated
 
Last edited:
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I don't know a lot about differential equations, but I will say that velocity is the derivative of x(t). If you can figure out the position, maybe you can solve for the T variable. Or perhaps you could work this out like an optimization problem?
 
Any means of solving this apart from what I've tried ?
 

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