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Projectile motion is a form of motion experienced by an object or particle (a projectile) that is projected in a gravitational field, such as from Earth's surface, and moves along a curved path (a trajectory) under the action of gravity only. In the particular case of projectile motion on Earth, most calculations assume the effects of air resistance are passive.
Galileo Galilei showed that the trajectory of a given projectile is parabolic, but the path may also be straight in the special case when the object is thrown directly upward or downward. The study of such motions is called ballistics, and such a trajectory is described as ballistic. The only force of mathematical significance that is actively exerted on the object is gravity, which acts downward, thus imparting to the object a downward acceleration towards Earth's center of mass. Due to the object's inertia, no external force is needed to maintain the horizontal velocity component of the object's motion.
Taking other forces into account, such as aerodynamic drag or internal propulsion (such as in a rocket), requires additional analysis. A ballistic missile is a missile only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight, and whose remaining course is governed by the laws of classical mechanics.
Ballistics (from Ancient Greek βάλλειν bállein 'to throw') is the science of dynamics that deals with the flight, behavior and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, unguided bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.
The elementary equations of ballistics neglect nearly every factor except for initial velocity, the launch angle and an gravitational acceleration assumed constant. Practical solutions of a ballistics problem often require considerations of air resistance, cross winds, target motion, acceleration due to gravity varying with height, and in such problems as launching a rocket from one point on the Earth to another, the horizon's distance vs curvature of the Earth (its local speed of rotation). Detailed mathematical solutions of practical problems typically do not have closed-form solutions, and therefore require numerical methods to address.