Trajectory of a projectile WITH air resistance?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the trajectory of a projectile with air resistance, emphasizing the complexity of drag as a function of the object's characteristics, speed, and altitude. Key methods involve using tables of coefficients to determine drag, calculating deceleration due to drag alongside gravitational acceleration, and applying numerical integration techniques for position and velocity updates. The suggested resources include Wikipedia articles on external ballistics and numerical ordinary differential equations, as well as the predictor-corrector method for solving these equations.

PREREQUISITES
  • Basic understanding of physics principles, particularly forces and motion.
  • Familiarity with differential equations, specifically numerical methods.
  • Knowledge of drag coefficients and their application in projectile motion.
  • Experience with numerical integration techniques for solving equations.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the concept of drag coefficients and their impact on projectile motion.
  • Learn about numerical ordinary differential equations and their applications.
  • Explore the predictor-corrector method for enhancing numerical integration accuracy.
  • Investigate simulation tools or software for modeling projectile trajectories with air resistance.
USEFUL FOR

High school students, physics enthusiasts, and anyone interested in advanced projectile motion analysis, particularly in contexts involving air resistance and numerical methods.

bolshevik
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ok. I'm a sophomore in high school who knows nothing about differential equations except for what wikipedia and some other sources said. I seem to simply have the need to figure this out. I've been to wikipedia, which didn't help. Could someone please provide a walkthrough on how to the math for trajectory with air resistance? This is starting to get on my nerves.
Thanks.
 
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The main issue is that drag is a fuction of the object itself, speed, and altitude (air is less dense at higher altitudes). It's complex enough that tables of coefficients need to be used with equations to calculate drag. Once you can calculate the drag for a given position and velocity, you can calculate the deceleration due to drag, and the acceleration due to gravity. Then given an initial position and velocity, and calculated accelerations, numerical integration can be used to determine new positions and velocities, then new accelerations, in very small steps of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_ballistics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_ordinary_differential_equations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictor-corrector_method
 

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