robinson wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:06 am
If the earth was actually flat, no matter how high the velocity of a bullet, it would simply fall and hit at the same time as any other bullet, moving or not.
That Physics.
But the earth is not actually flat.
Which is why something can reach "orbital velocity", which means even though it's falling (just like a bullet), it never hits, because the earth isn't flat.
Low earth orbit this is 17,500 miles per hour.
While a 14.5×114mm round fired flat won't even come close to orbit, it does travel far enough that the curve of the earth means it hits slightly later than a bullet just dropped from the same height.
Most people absolutely don't care about this at all. Those that do will now argue why I am wrong.
You are right and it happens in every case, not just when some "mystical velocity" is reached (V
m).
The reason is that, because of the curvature of the earth, the ground falls away, as it were, the further from the muzzle the bullet travels.
So while the bullet dropped from your sweaty, inconsequential fingers, covers a distance D, the fired bullet travels D + x, where x is the deviation of the earth's surface from a tangent line (plus height of the muzzle) at the point of firing.
Good show, Robinson. Your ignorance (not meant in the least way as a pejorative) has advanced the understanding of all, and perhaps won a few bar bets.
Any mention of the lack of spherality of the earth or of local geophysical deviations will be rewarded with a hefty sac-kick, thus
