Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: long jumping

Bob Sciamanda wrote in connection with the cover story in the March
issue of TPT:

I certainly agree that Eq (1) in the TPT article is in error. The last
term (deltaE) should not be there.

The problem then of course is that the whole article falls apart.
This is most unfortunate because optimum launch angles for long
jumping are derived from it which apparently are in fair agreement
with real long jumping data.

That is, if we delete delta E, it necessarily follows that gamma is a
function of launch angle. In that case, we can proceed no further
with the problem until we model this dependence.

I am still hoping for a way out, because I think the question, "At
what angle should a long jumper launch himself for maximum range,
subject to certain simplifications {...}?" is a nice question for an
introductory physics class. The trick is to figure out what belongs
in the ellipsis in the preceding sentence!
--
Dr. Carl E. Mungan, Assistant Professor http://uwf.edu/cmungan/
Dept. of Physics, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514-5751
office: 850-474-2645 (secretary -2267, FAX -3323) email: cmungan@uwf.edu