Wrap your brain around this

[CraigV]

Some fun little facts to give you something to think about:

A shift of less than 1 degree in the tilt of the Earth changed Northern Africa from a vast grassland to the desert we know today

There are more atoms in a glass of water than there are glasses of in all the seas and oceans of the world

If you fire a bullet from a gun and drop a bullet of the same weight at the same time, both bullets will hit the ground at the same time.

 

[lsiberian]

Some fun little facts to give you something to think about:

A shift of less than 1 degree in the tilt of the Earth changed Northern Africa from a vast grassland to the desert we know today

There are more atoms in a glass of water than there are glasses of in all the seas and oceans of the world

If you fire a bullet from a gun and drop a bullet of the same weight at the same time, both bullets will hit the ground at the same time.

What if you fire the bullet at an upward angle?

The is only 1 Adam that I know of.

 

[Adam]

If you fire a bullet from a gun and drop a bullet of the same weight at the same time, both bullets will hit the ground at the same time.

That would depend on if you hit who you were shooting at.

But, yes, the gravitational acceleration would be the same on both bullets.

 

[lsiberian]

That would depend on if you hit who you were shooting at.

But, yes, the gravitational acceleration would be the same on both bullets.

hehe That works too. What if you designed a bullet with a lower terminal velocity and fired it from a height?

I love pointing out exceptions.

 

[Davemcc]

hehe That works too. What if you designed a bullet with a lower terminal velocity and fired it from a height?

I love pointing out exceptions.

The forward velocity is irrelevant to the force of gravity. A slower bullet will hit the ground at the same time as time as the faster bullet or the dropped bullet, as long as they are fired level and fired/dropped from the same height. This is just the same as a hammer and a feather will fall at the same speed on the moon, in the absence of an atmosphere.

 

[Davemcc]

A shift of less than 1 degree in the tilt of the Earth changed Northern Africa from a vast grassland to the desert we know today

This is incorrect. Sub-Saharan warming was due to Egyptian civilization cooking with open fires and polluting the environment. This is true because I just said it is true, in accordance with current scientific thresholds of proof in climate change studies.

 

[Adam]

The forward velocity is irrelevant to the force of gravity. A slower bullet will hit the ground at the same time as time as the faster bullet or the dropped bullet, as long as they are fired level and fired/dropped from the same height. This is just the same as a hammer and a feather will fall at the same speed on the moon, in the absence of an atmosphere.

Isiberian said it correctly though - a lower terminal velocity, which implies a higher amount of drag.

 

[Adam]

I'm eagerly anticipating (and also dreading) Alex's inevitable list of "fun facts."

Well, him or Pat.

 

[Davemcc]

Isiberian said it correctly though - a lower terminal velocity, which implies a higher amount of drag.

'splain please how drag overcomes gravity, unless the suggestion is to use the atmosphere to slow the falling bullets downward path. If that's the case, why not just fire a bullet and drop a feather and see which one hits the ground first?

 

[Adam]

'splain please how drag overcomes gravity, unless the suggestion is to use the atmosphere to slow the falling bullets downward path. If that's the case, why not just fire a bullet and drop a feather and see which one hits the ground first?

You used the example of hammer and feather in the absence of an atmosphere, and that distinction is important because an atmosphere will cause them to fall at different rates because of drag. Terminal velocity is a function of gravitational acceleration and drag. The higher the drag, the lower the terminal velocity (i.e. the slower the descent to the ground). So, if one bullet has a lower terminal velocity than another bullet, and both bullets start from the same height above the ground, and both bullets have the same initial velocity in the direction of the ground, then the bullet with a lower terminal velocity (i.e. higher drag) will hit the ground after the other bullet does...regardless of velocity in other directions.