<font face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by M-a-s-sDriver:
But that would require that the ball go 300 feet in .006 seconds. </font>
No actually it says 300ft/sec so it would take 1 sec to go 300 ft.
Say the barrel is 12 in or 1ft long. To traverse it in 0.006sec the average speed of the ball is
1 ft / 0.006 sec = 166.7 ft/sec.
(Actually the barrel must have been about 10.8 in long so the average was 150 ft/sec)

<font face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Rather, in that amount of time it really only goes about 10 or 12 inches, at which point it has reached it's terminal velocity. Now if you carry out the math, and assume it goes 12 inches, or 1 foot in .006 seconds, 300x.006 is 1.8 seconds. </font>
Look at the units here. 300ft/sec x 0.006 sec = 1.8 ft. This is true if the ball were moving at 300 ft/sec the entire time it was in the barrel it would have traveled 1.8 ft but it was accellerating so only reached 300 ft/sec as it left the barrel.

<font face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Now remember guys: You are thinking I am a completely brilliant person to have these great thoughts, but I have consumed 4 Sierra-Neveda Pale ales, So my thinking is on an entirely different level from yours. (you have to determine which level though).
Again, with the utmost respect to those here, Brent Jackson, PFB.</font>
I do agree you are on a different level at this point LOL.

Use the units in the equations it helps. The ball never goes 50,000 fps it could not. It never passes 300 fps. Acceleration, Velosity and distance are very different and the numbers do make sense.

The accelleration in the barrel is 50,000 ft/sec/sec.
The average speed is 150 fps with the lowest speed being 0fps and the highset speed being 300 fps.
The distance is 10.8 inches and the time is takes to travers it is 0.006 seconds.

Hope this helps,
Hitmanng

------------------
"I would rather hit once than miss 140 times."


[This message has been edited by hitmanng (edited 07-21-2001).]