A motor cyclist performing an eye cache stunt using principles of projectile motion:
A motor cycle launched off from the edge of a cliff at a particular angle, so that he can cover the exact
distance between the cliffs.
Projectile motion refers to the motion of an object projected into the air at an angle near the earth's surface.
It moves along a curved path under the action of gravity. Projectile motion only occurs when there is one force applied at the beginning of the trajectory after which there is no interference apart from gravity.
(We often experience many kinds of motions in our daily life. Projectile motion is one among them. A projectile is some object thrown in air or space. The Curved path along which the projectile travels is what is known as trajectory. Projectile Motion is the free fall motion of any body in a horizontal path with constant velocity. There are two types of projectiles:
- Horizontally launched projectiles
- A Projectile launched Vertically upwards.
Horizontally launched projectiles: If we consider a horizontally launched projectile then the X and Y coordinates are treated separately. The horizontal component of the projectile velocity remains unchanged from its initial value, throughout the motion. As the acceleration due to gravity is purely vertical, i.e., gravity can't move the projectile sideways, the x component of acceleration is zero, and the vertical component is constant and is equal to g. So the projectile motion can be analyzed as a combination of horizontal motion with constant velocity and vertical motion with constant acceleration.
A soccer player hits the foot ball in a technical way and therefore it moves as a projectile:
A Projectile launched Vertically upwards: In the absence of gravity the projectile would again travel along a straight–line, inertial path. An object in motion would continue in motion at a constant speed in the same direction if there is no unbalanced force. This is the case for an object moving through space in the absence of gravity. However, in the presence of gravity, such that the cannonball is truly a projectile, then the object would once more free-fall below this straight–line, inertial path. In fact, the projectile would travel with a parabolic trajectory. The presence of gravity does not affect the horizontal motion of the projectile. The projectile will still moves the same horizontal distance in each second of travel as it did even the gravity switch was turned off. The force of gravity is a vertical force and does not affect horizontal motion.