Saturday, July 13, 2002
ALT = (.5 * flight time)^2 * 1/2g
g = 32.2 feet per second per second
or
g =~ 10 meters per second per second.
posted by Joel 5:20 PM
No Highways in the Sky
Flying a rocket requires... math. There aren't any highways, no street signs, no stop signs. It takes math to know where your are going and where you've been. Using a little simple rocket boy math... here is something you can do - a quick fun way to calculate your altitude of a simple ballistic projectile going straight up and down.
1) I launched two "SkyRocket" toy missles, launched with rubber bands.
2) Noting the time each flight took in seconds I calculated the altitude of each flight.
3) Assume
* Each flight took the same time, going UP, and down
* 1/2 the flight time is the time it took from the peak to the ground
* Ignoring drag, this means the altitude is:
/ 2 \
| / t \ |
| | - | g |
\ \ 2 / /
------------------
2
g = 32.2 feet per second per second
g =~ 10 meters per second per second
4) this means my flights were as follows (time in seconds, altitude in feet)
Big "rocket" 5 100.625
5 100.625
6 144.9
6 144.9
Small "rocket" 7 197.225
6 144.9
9 326.025
9 326.025
posted by Joel 5:17 PM
