Re: asymmetry measure

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

I've searched for hours (would you believe > 15 min.?) for the
reference.  All I remember is the howitzer (it more likely was lange
Max) was inaccurate, because they'd assumed a parabola (accurate for
parallel gravity).  When they realized the distance was so great the
central force was applicable, and, therefore, the trajectory was more
accurately ellipse.  Grosse Bertha was a terror weapon, inaccurate, and
had a very small payload, somewhat like the V1.

I suspect this is the source of the "computational effort".  The French
designed a much better howitzer, but, fortunately, the war ended before
it could be deployed.

bc

Alex. F. Burr wrote:

> regards the comment on Big Bertha (a large German cannon made to bombard
> Paris in WW I). There was a very large computational effort to
> calculate trajectories in WW I. It was an additional spur to develop
> computers. The non-parabolic nature of trajectories was well known
> long befor WW I. Paintings show it. The trajectory of actual projectiles
> was long known to NOT be a parabola nor an ellipse.
> in WWI