What Causes a Negative Drag Coefficient in Projectile Trajectory?

AI Thread Summary
A negative drag coefficient in projectile trajectory modeling suggests that the projectile is moving faster than predicted by freefall, indicating potential errors in the model's equations or data manipulation. Participants emphasize the importance of verifying the signs in the model equations to ensure accuracy. The discussion highlights the need for analytical solutions to understand the motion with drag properly. Inputting a negative drag coefficient may indicate a miscalculation or misinterpretation of the expected trajectory. Ensuring correct signs in the model is crucial for accurate trajectory fitting.
Magpye17
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Hi,
I am working on a video capture project in which i am videoing the projectile of a ball that is being thrown in the air and trying to fit it to a curve for the expected trajectory of a projectile with quadratic drag.I am running into the issue that in order for my expected trajectory to fit the actual trajectory of the ball the drag coefficient must be negative. Why is that?
 
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Have you checked that you don't have a sign wrong somewhere else?
 
If you show your equation, there is a change that someone may figure out the problem.
Do you have an analytical solution for the motion with drag?
 
boneh3ad said:
Have you checked that you don't have a sign wrong somewhere else?
I am manipulating the data on an expected drag curve and in order to get my data to fit the curve i had to input a negative drag coefficient
 
Into what do you input that drag coefficient? Do you have a formula?
 
Magpye17 said:
I am manipulating the data on an expected drag curve and in order to get my data to fit the curve i had to input a negative drag coefficient

Right so my question is related to that curve. Clearly that curve comes from some sort of model equation, so have you made sure the signs are correct in that model. A negative drag coefficient in a model where the signs were correct would imply that your projectile is moving faster than what is predicted by freefall. Is that actually the case here?
 
I have recently been really interested in the derivation of Hamiltons Principle. On my research I found that with the term ##m \cdot \frac{d}{dt} (\frac{dr}{dt} \cdot \delta r) = 0## (1) one may derivate ##\delta \int (T - V) dt = 0## (2). The derivation itself I understood quiet good, but what I don't understand is where the equation (1) came from, because in my research it was just given and not derived from anywhere. Does anybody know where (1) comes from or why from it the...
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