Projectile

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A projectile being fired from an artillery piece

A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found in warfare and sports (for example, a thrown baseball, kicked football, fired bullet, shot arrow, stone released from catapult).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In ballistics, mathematical equations of motion are used to analyze projectile trajectories through launch, flight, and impact.

Motive forceEdit

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File:Schwerer Gustav projectile 2.jpg

Projectile and cartridge case for the huge World War II Schwerer Gustav artillery piece. Most projectile weapons use the compression or expansion of gases as their motive force.

Blowguns and pneumatic rifles use compressed gases, while most other guns and cannons utilize expanding gases liberated by sudden chemical reactions by propellants like smokeless powder. Light-gas guns use a combination of these mechanisms.

Railguns utilize electromagnetic fields to provide acceleration along the entire length of the device, greatly increasing the muzzle velocity.

Some projectiles provide propulsion during flight by means of a rocket engine or jet engine. In military terminology, a rocket is unguided, while a missile is guided. Note the two meanings of "rocket" (weapon and engine): an ICBM is a guided missile with a rocket engine.

An explosion, whether or not by a weapon, causes the debris to act as multiple high velocity projectiles. An explosive weapon or device may also be designed to produce many high velocity projectiles by the break-up of its casing; these are correctly termed fragments.

In sports Template:AnchorEdit

File:Baseball.jpg

Ball speeds of Template:Convert have been recorded in baseball.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In projectile motion the most important force applied to the projectile mass is the propelling force. In many sports, the propelling forces are provided by muscles that accelerate the projectile (ball, disc, javelin, hammer, dart), and the stronger the propelling force, the faster and farther the projectile will travel. See pitching, bowling.

As a weaponEdit

Delivery projectilesEdit

Many projectiles, e.g. shells, may carry an explosive charge or another chemical or biological substance. Aside from explosive payload, a projectile can be designed to cause special damage, e.g. fire (see also early thermal weapons), or poisoning (see also arrow poison).

Kinetic projectilesEdit

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Wired projectilesEdit

Some projectiles stay connected by a cable to the launch equipment after launching it:

for guidance: wire-guided missile (range up to Template:Convert)
to administer an electric shock, as in the case of a Taser (range up to Template:Convert); two projectiles are shot simultaneously, each with a cable.
to make a connection with the target, either to tow it towards the launcher, as with a whaling harpoon, or to draw the launcher to the target, as a grappling hook does.

Typical projectile speedsEdit

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Projectile	Speed				Specific kinetic energy (J/kg)
Projectile	(m/s)	(km/h)	(ft/s)	(mph)	Specific kinetic energy (J/kg)
Object falling 1 m (in vacuum, at Earth's surface)	4.43	15.948	14.5	9.9	9.8
Object falling 10 m (in vacuum, at Earth's surface)	14	50.4	46	31	98
Thrown club (expert thrower)	40	144	130	90	800
Object falling 100 m (in vacuum, at Earth's surface)	45	162	150	100	980
Refined (flexible) atlatl dart (expert thrower)	45	162	150	100	1,000
Ice hockey puck (slapshot, professional player)	50	180	165	110	1,300
80-lb-draw pistol crossbow bolt	58	208.8	190	130	1,700
War arrow shot from a 150 lbs medieval warbow	63	228.2	208	141	2,000
Blunt Impact Projectile shot from a 40mm grenade launcher	87	313.2	285	194.6	3,785
Paintball fired from marker	91	327.6	300	204	4,100
175-lb-draw crossbow bolt	97	349.2	320	217	4,700
6 mm Airsoft pellet	100	360	328	224	5,000
Air Rifle BB 4.5 mm	150	540	492	336	11,000
Air gun pellet .177" (magnum-power air rifle)	305	878.4	1,000	545	29,800
9×19mm (bullet of a pistol)	340	1224	1,116	761	58,000
12.7×99 mm (bullet of a heavy machine gun)	800	2,880	2,625	1,790	320,000
German Tiger I 88 mm (tank shell- Pzgr. 39 APCBCHE)	810	2,899	2,657	1,812	328,050
5.56×45mm (standard round used in many modern rifles)	920	3,312	3,018	2,058	470,000
20×102mm (standard US cannon round used in fighter cannons)	1,039	3,741	3,410	2,325	540,000
25×140mm (APFSDS, tank penetrator)	1,700	6,120	5,577	3,803	1,400,000
2 kg tungsten Slug (from Experimental Railgun)	3,000	10,800	9,843	6,711	4,500,000
MRBM reentry vehicle	Up to 4,000	Up to 14,000	Up to 13,000	Up to 9,000	Up to 8,000,000
projectile of a light-gas gun	Up to 7,000	Up to 25,000	Up to 23,000	Up to 16,000	Up to 24,000,000
Satellite in low Earth orbit	8,000	29,000	26,000	19,000	32,000,000
Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle	~10,000	~36,000	~33,000	~22,000	~50,000,000
Projectile (e.g., space debris) and target both in low Earth orbit	0–16,000	~58,000	~53,000	~36,000	~130,000,000
7 T eV particle in LHC<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> \|\| 299,792,455 <ref group="note">Approximate equivalent of 99,9999991% c.</ref> \|\| 1,079,252,839 \|\| 983571079 \|\| 670,616,536 \|\| ~6.7 × 10²⁰ <ref group="note">In relation to the rest mass of proton.</ref>

Equations of motionEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} An object projected at an angle to the horizontal has both the vertical and horizontal components of velocity. The vertical component of the velocity on the y-axis is given as <math>V_y=U\sin\theta</math> while the horizontal component of the velocity is <math>V_x=U\cos\theta</math>. There are various calculations for projectiles at a specific angle <math>\theta</math>:

1. Time to reach maximum height. It is symbolized as (<math>t</math>), which is the time taken for the projectile to reach the maximum height from the plane of projection. Mathematically, it is given as <math>t=U \sin\theta/g</math> where <math>g</math> = acceleration due to gravity (app 9.81 m/s²), <math>U</math> = initial velocity (m/s) and <math>\theta</math> = angle made by the projectile with the horizontal axis.

2. Time of flight (<math>T</math>): this is the total time taken for the projectile to fall back to the same plane from which it was projected. Mathematically it is given as <math>T=2U\sin\theta/g</math>.

3. Maximum Height (<math>H</math>): this is the maximum height attained by the projectile OR the maximum displacement on the vertical axis (y-axis) covered by the projectile. It is given as <math>H = U^2 \sin^2\theta/2g</math>.

4. Range (<math>R</math>): The Range of a projectile is the horizontal distance covered (on the x-axis) by the projectile. Mathematically, <math>R = U^2 \sin 2\theta/g</math>. The Range is maximum when angle <math>\theta</math> = 45°, i.e. <math>\sin 2\theta=1</math>.