physics

[Dave]

joetapley - 4/5/2005 11:56 AM Dave To comply with safety regs don't forget to tow an 'Archery in Progress' sign (shopping trolley?) at a suitable distance behind the vehicle.

</p>

Thanks for the advice and#giving me a nice big smile before lunch, Joe </p>

[Armchair Archer]

Well to try to end all the speculation, i've e-mailed brainiac as was suggested earlier, might even be fun knowing that it started on this forum, if they try it, LOL

My personal view is that the arrow fired forward would travel at 180mph (90 +90) and the arrow fired backwards would stay still (90 - 90) although this is theoretical and does not take into account wind resistance, gravity etc

Oh, Dave, make sure you get a trolley with a wonky wheel (although you'll have to as they're made like that, it's true, my dad told me, honest!!!)

[Jerry Tee]

All thoughts of a tail wind are incorrect to truely understand the situation your point of observation must be the arrow itself When you shoot the arrow backwards it accelerates very quickly from minus 90 mph to zero mph therefore no tail wind as the arrows velocity is zero.The car from which it was shot will continue to receed at 90 mph .The arrow has zero velocity and only force acting on it is gravity so it will gain velocity in the Z axis ( FALL DOWN)

[gwynn]

Yes, what he said. According to the physics tutor at Portsmouth College [by all accounts a very bright man!] the arrow will just fall to the ground. Well, obviously it'll clatter around a bit in the slipstream but it won't go anywhere.
Now I have to work on the next conundrum......

[English Bowman]

Brainiac probably won't do much as they have their archery show already filmed. They wanted to know if a modern archer can re-produce the archery feats of legendary heroes. Can he split the arrow like Robin Hood did, using an English Longbow? Can he shoot an apple off someone's head using a medieaval crossbow like William Tell? And can he shoot through the gaps in two sets of crossed axes like Odyseus using an ancient recurve bow? How do I know this? I was that modern archer. Watch Brainiacs - History Abuse to find out how I did. (I don't know when it will be shown)

Dan

[Barry C]

I dont think the arrow will stay totally#still because it has to accelerate to maximum speed, although quite quickly.

[gwynn]

Well, that's what the Physics man said.
Remember the bow is travelling away from the arrow at 90 as opposed to the arrow leaving the bow, it's just a different way of looking at it [said the fly walking over the mirror]

[Jal]

Surely the arrow would travel at near 90mph from the point of release no matter what speed the platform it was shot from was travelling? The point of release does not move, so, the only loss of speed would be in the 1/2 second it would take for the string to go from fingers to bow. (I haven't explained that very well, but I know what I mean)

[joetapley]

AAAaaaaaghhhh!

With respect to the ground:
Shoot forward speed =90+90 =180 mph
Shoot sideways speed = 127.3 mph
Shoot Backwards speed = 90-90 = 0 mph

[Dave]

<font size="2">Just to add a new#problem to the discussion...</font></p>

<font size="2">You're going forward at 90mph, and then, instead of shooting the arrow at 90mph in the opposite direction, what would happen if you shot it at 45mph? Would it continue in your direction of travel at 45mph until it slowed and hit the ground?</font></p>