Minimum distance between bomb and shell

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The problem involves an aircraft releasing a bomb while a cannon fires a shell at an angle. The objective is to determine the angle for the shell to hit the bomb and to find the minimum distance between them as they pass each other. The context includes kinematics and projectile motion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to derive the minimum distance between the bomb and the shell using relative displacement and differentiation. Some participants question the initial conditions, particularly the x-coordinates of the bomb and shell, suggesting that they may not intersect if they are moving in opposite directions. Others note the importance of initial separation in the x-direction.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring the implications of the initial conditions and the equations presented. There is recognition of a potential blunder in the original poster's setup, and guidance has been offered regarding the initial x-separation.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of an initial x-separation of ##\sqrt{3}~km## that needs to be incorporated into the position equations, which may affect the calculations and conclusions drawn by the original poster.

Akhilesh Prasad
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
1. Prolem Statement:-
An aircraft is flying horizontally with constant velocity = ##200 m/s##, at a height = ##1 km## above the ground. At the moment shown, a bomb is released from aircraft and the canon- gun below fires a shell with initial speed = ##200 m/s##, at some angle #\theta#.
1)For what value of ##'\theta'## will the projectile shell destroy the bomb in mid- air ? If the value of ##'\theta'## is ##53^{\circ}##.
2)Find the minimum distance between the bomb and the shell as they fly past each other. Take ##\sin53^{\circ}=4/5##.

The figure for the question is as shown below:
2380 (2).png


2. My solution:-

I have solved the first part of the question the one that I am having trouble solving is the second part. Here is my work on the solution.
For reference these are the variables that I have used in my solution:-
  • ##\vec{s}_{s/e}##-Displacement of shell w.r.t Earth
  • ##\vec{s}_{b/e}##-Displacement of bomb w.r.t Earth
  • ##\vec{v}_{0}##-Velocity of bomb/shell w.r.t Earth
Lets not list all of them, I think you should have got the idea now. So, here goes my solution.

##\vec{s}_{s/e}=-(v_0\cos{\theta}t)\hat{i} + (v_0\sin{\theta}t-(1/2)gt^2)\hat{j}##
##\vec{s}_{b/e}=(v_0t)\hat{i}+(1-(1/2)gt^2)\hat{j}##

Now, to find the minimum distance between the bomb and the shell what I did was first find the relative displacement and then differentiate its modulus and set it as ##0## which gives us the minimum possible distance between them.

##\begin{aligned}
&\vec{s}_{s/b}=-(v_0\cos{\theta}+v_0)t\hat{i}+(v_0\sin\theta-1)\hat{j} \\
\implies & |\vec{s}_{s/b}|^2=2v_0^2t^2(1+\cos\theta)-2v_0\sin\theta t \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad \ldots(1)
\end{aligned}##

Now, differentiating equation ##(1)## w.r.t ##t## and putting ##\dfrac{d|\vec{s}_{s/b}|^2}{dt}=0##, we get

##t=\dfrac{\sin\theta}{2v_0(1+\cos\theta)}=\dfrac{1}{4v_0}##

On substituting ##t=1/(4v_0)## in equation ##(1)##, we get

##{|\vec{s}_{s/b}|}^2=\dfrac{320}{16\times 25}=\dfrac{4}{5} \implies |\vec{s}_{s/b}|=\dfrac{2}{\sqrt5}##

3.Book's Solution:-

2380.png


Why does my answer differ from the book, what did I miss.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
An image showing the initial relative positions of the aircraft and gun would be helpful. Your equation for the trajectory of the shell indicates that its x-component is in the direction of the negative x-axis, while that of the bomb is positive. If they both start at the same x-coordinate then surely they can't intersect as they would be moving in opposite directions away from the origin. So there must be some initial separation in the x-direction.
 
gneill said:
An image showing the initial relative positions of the aircraft and gun would be helpful. Your equation for the trajectory of the shell indicates that its x-component is in the direction of the negative x-axis, while that of the bomb is positive. If they both start at the same x-coordinate then surely they can't intersect as they would be moving in opposite directions away from the origin. So there must be some initial separation in the x-direction.
I have been trying to upload for quite some time but don't know why it doesn't get uploaded.
 
gneill said:
An image showing the initial relative positions of the aircraft and gun would be helpful. Your equation for the trajectory of the shell indicates that its x-component is in the direction of the negative x-axis, while that of the bomb is positive. If they both start at the same x-coordinate then surely they can't intersect as they would be moving in opposite directions away from the origin. So there must be some initial separation in the x-direction.
Finally, it got uploaded.
 
Akhilesh Prasad said:
Finally, it got uploaded.
So according to your diagram the initial x-separation is ##\sqrt{3}~km##. You'll have to work that into your position equations.
 
gneill said:
So according to your diagram the initial x-separation is ##\sqrt{3}~km##. You'll have to work that into your position equations.
Oh my god...that was a blunder, thanks for all your efforts.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
1K
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
5
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
2K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
2K