Physics question

In article ,
"Rich S." wrote:

There is a (magic) B-17 flying along at 560 mph. The tail gunner is out of
.50 caliber ammo. He sees a Messerschmitt ME-109 crossing behind the B-17,
50 yards away.

He pulls out his trusty .45 Colt auto (muzzle velocity 820 fps) and fires at
the Hun when the ME-109 is directly behind the B-17. He leads the
Messerschmitt by exactly enough to hit the pilot (if he were firing from a
fixed position).

Does the bullet exit the muzzle and fall directly to earth?

Rich "Scratching my head" S.


Yes, but the bullet is traveling at 820 ft/s relative to the B-17. The
bullet will drop straight down, but can still hit the ME, which runs int
the bullet.

Here's a wacky scenario... why can you fire a gun on the equator
in the direction of the setting sun? I mean, the Earth spins at
the equator at around 1,000 miles per hour (24,000 mile circum-
ference divided by 24 hr rotation), so why does the bullet exit
the barrel at the same velocity no matter what direction you
point it in? Hmmm. :-)

I think it's because the atmosphere is rotating at the same speed,
thus no friction to slow it down or keep it inside the barrel.

Yes? No? How does this differ from the first scenario?







Dean A. Scott, mfa
---------------------------------------
School of Visual Art and Design
southern adventist university
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http://www.southern.edu/~dascott

("Dean A. Scott" wrote)
Here's a wacky scenario... why can you fire a gun on the equator
in the direction of the setting sun? I mean, the Earth spins at
the equator at around 1,000 miles per hour (24,000 mile circum-
ference divided by 24 hr rotation), so why does the bullet exit
the barrel at the same velocity no matter what direction you
point it in? Hmmm. :-)


Don't have an answer ...but pointy bullet shaped things + the equator = this
link.

http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/Navigation/2-why-launch-from-equator.html
"Why is it better to launch a spaceship from near the equator?"


Montblack

"Dean A. Scott" wrote in message
news:1126146846.d1f75da4b1eff1487f40a17ade08c409@t eranews...
Here's a wacky scenario... why can you fire a gun on the equator
in the direction of the setting sun? I mean, the Earth spins at
the equator at around 1,000 miles per hour (24,000 mile circum-
ference divided by 24 hr rotation), so why does the bullet exit
the barrel at the same velocity no matter what direction you
point it in? Hmmm. :-)

Imagine that the target is going away from you at the same speed that the
bullet is traveling. It would hit the ground before it reaches the target.
(Actually, it would never catch the target.

Now, turn that around. Imagine the target is standing still and you are
going away from it at bullet speed. Same ting happens, mon. De bullet hits
de ground.

Like incest, it's all relative.

Rich S.