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Re: Gedankening

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 09:58:26 -0500 (EST)
From: "Emilio O. Roxin" <EROXIN@URIACC.URI.EDU>
Subject: Re: A Parents' Day gem

... "gedankening" ... does not substitute for real experimentation. It
just checks logical consistency of our thoughts.

True. But I am puzzled by simulation performed by John. It shows that up
to 10% difference (in times af fall) can be anticipated for the
horizontally fired bullet and the one dropped from rest. My gedankening
consists of saying that the horizontal motion (where the air resistance
is high) has no effect on the time of fall (where speeds are too small to
make the air resistance significant).

Does it mean that horizontal and vertical motions are no longer independent
of each other when air resistance is significant? Did you use Interactive
Physics to perform simulations, John? I do not think that IP is smart
enough to model the dependence (?) of two components correctly.

Ludwik Kowalski