The discussion revolves around the physics of landing reusable booster rockets, specifically focusing on the calculations related to thrust, acceleration, and the forces acting on the rocket during descent.
Several participants have provided insights into the definitions of impulse and the importance of consistent sign conventions. There is ongoing exploration of how to correctly apply Newton's laws and the implications of choosing different positive directions for forces and velocities.
Participants note potential confusion regarding the positive direction for forces and velocities, as well as discrepancies in calculated thrust values. There is mention of the need to clarify the problem statement and the expected format of the answer.
The dichotomy is not between scalars and vectors. Vectors are conceptually independent of representation.erobz said:. Let’s work with vectors or let’s work with magnitudes in my opinion.
Ok, but it was unfortunate that the OP was being told he was wrong when he had merely not used the preferred approach of the responder(s).kuruman said:here, I favor expressing vectors in polar form, i.e. separate the magnitude, which is always positive, from the direction
Not quite. It is unfortunate that this responder did not correctly identify how OP was wrong, namely that OP put the acceleration in the same direction as the velocity.haruspex said:Ok, but it was unfortunate that the OP was being told he was wrong when he had merely not used the preferred approach of the responder(s).
Personally, I thought post 13,14 alluded to and explained that thoroughly, so why beat a dead horse.kuruman said:Not quite. It is unfortunate that this responder did not correctly identify how OP was wrong, namely that OP put the acceleration in the same direction as the velocity.
Ok, but given all the occurrences of negative forces and accelerations in post #1, to the unconcern of the OP, it would seem likely the OP was working in scalars, not magnitudes.kuruman said:Not quite. It is unfortunate that this responder did not correctly identify how OP was wrong, namely that OP put the acceleration in the same direction as the velocity.