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On Mon, 10 Feb 1997, A. R. Marlow wrote:
Here is where the problem lies -- you are using V - v - dv as the speed
of the ejected tobacco after the spit. But by definition V is the
difference between the speed of the rocket (old man) and the speed of
the ejected material in the given frame, and so the correct expression
for the speed of the ejected material in your formula above is simply
V-v. (See, for example, Marion & Thornton, Classical Dynamics of
Particles and Systems, Fourth Edition, Saunders, 1995, p. 89). By
including the extra dv you get a cancelation of the earlier mdv term, but
that cancelation in fact does not actually occur. In the standard
derivations of the rocket formula, the mdv term is dropped because it
is a product of two infinitesimals (specifically noted in the text of
Marion & Thornton cited above), but we cannot argue that here, and
hence the term remains and contributes to the motion of the old man.
Again, I must demur. You'll note that my formula gives a relative
velocity of V between the old man and his most recent projectile. ...
... Using your formula the added velocity turns out to be
dv = mV/(M-m)
So, for the fun of it, I just tried this in my spreadsheet. Not
surprisingly--and, again, since m is *as good as* infinitesimal--the
result is still 9064 spits.
...
Am I going to have to pull out my "Always Right Card"? ;-)
John