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Principle:
A classic method of determining the
velocity of a projectile is to shoot the
projectile into a resting mass which
is large compared to the projectiles
mass and hung as a pendulum. In the
process, the projectile remains in the
pendulum mass and oscillates with
it. This is an inelastic collision in
which the momentum remains
unchanged. If the pendulums
mechanical data are known, one can
infer the velocity of the pendulums
mass (including the projectiles mass)
at the lowest point of the
pendulums oscillation from the
What you need: Tasks: amplitude of the pendulums oscilla-
1. Measurement of the oscillation tion. The momentum of the two
Ballistic pendulum 11229.00 1 amplitudes of the ballistic pendu- masses in this phase of the oscilla-
Steel ball, d = 19 mm 02502.01 2 lum after capturing the steel ball tion must thus be equal to the
for the three possible tension impulse of the projectile before it
Speed measuring attachement 11229.30 1
energies of the throwing device. struck the pendulum. If one knows
Power supply 5 VDC/2.4 A 13900.99 1 the masses of the pendulum and the
2. Calculation of the initial velocities
of the ball from the measured projectile, one can calculate the
oscillation amplitudes and the projectiles velocity.
mechanical data of the pendulum In order to be able to use this meas-
is performed using the approxima- uring principle without danger, the
tion formula (3). following set-up is used here: A steel
Complete Equipment Set, Manual on CD-ROM included 3. Plotting of the velocity v of the ball is shot at the mass of a pendu-
Ballistic Pendulum P2131200 steel ball as a function of the lum with the aid of a spring catapult.
maximum deflection (090 ) of The pendulum mass has a hollow
the pendulum according to for- space in which the steel ball is held.
mula (3), taking into consideration If, additionally, two light barriers and
the special mechanical data of the a time measuring device are avail-
experiment. able, an independent, direct meas-
4. Determination of the correction urement of the initial velocity of the
factor fcor for the utilised pendu- ball can be made.
lum for the conversion of the
velocities determined by using the
approximation formula into the
values obtained from the exact
theory. Correction of the velocity
values from Tasks 2.
5. If the supplementary devices for
the direct measurement of the
initial velocity are available,
measure the initial velocities cor-
responding to the three tension
steps of the throwing device by
performing 10 measurements
each with subsequent mean value
Experimental set-up with supplement for direct measurement of the initial calculation. Plot the measured
velocity of the ball. points in the diagram from Task 3.
Give reasons for contingent
systematic deviations from the
theoretical curve.
PHYWE Systeme GmbH & Co. KG D - 37070 Gttingen Laboratory Experiments Physics 27
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PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen 21312-00 1
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1.3.12 Ballistic Pendulum
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5. If the supplementary devices for the direct measurement of potential energy at the highest point of the oscillation:
the initial velocity are available, measure the initial velocities
corresponding to the three tension steps of the throwing Epot = (m + M) g h ;
device by performing 10 measurements each with subse-
quent mean value calculation. Plot the measured points in where g is the acceleration of gravity and h the height by
the diagram from Task 3. Give reasons for contingent which the centre of gravity was raised. In Fig. 2 one sees that
systematic deviations from the theoretical curve. with r as the distance between the pivot point and the centre
of gravity, one can also write this formula as:
Epot = (m + M) g (1 cos ) (1)
Set-up and Procedure
Assemble the device according to Fig. 1. It must be standing This potential energy must be equal to the kinetic energy Ekin
on a stable table during the measurements. Information on the immediately after the collision:
operation of the ballistic pendulum is to be obtained from the
1m M2 v2p
appropriate operating instructions. 1
Ekin (2)
2
Before stretching the spring of the throwing device, affix the
steel ball to the holding magnet of the bolt. Then pull the bolt where vp is the velocity of the pendulums mass (including the
back until the desired lock-in position has been reached. Now, ball) immediately after the collision. If one substitutes the
without touching the pendulums pulling pin, ensure that the momentum p = (m + M) vp, in this equation, one obtains the
pendulum is at rest and that the trailing pointer indicates near- following:
ly zero. After these preparations have been completed, trigger p2
Ekin
2 1m M2
the shot by pulling the release lever. The amplitude of the
pendulums oscillation can be read from the trailing pointer.
or p 22 1m M2 Ekin
Note: Due to the friction involved in the functioning of the trail-
ing pointer, the measured amplitude can be slightly low. It is Before the collision, the pendulum was at rest. Due to the prin-
therefore advisable to shoot at the resting pendulum using the ciple of conservation of momentum, the momentum p = m v
same spring tension for a second and a third time without must be equal in magnitude to the momentum of the ball
resetting the trailing pointer. When the trailing pointer is not before the collision. One obtains the following for the veloc-
moved any further, one can assume that the angle indicated ity v of the ball before the start, i. e. for the parameter to be
has not been falsified by friction. determined:
mM
Theory and evaluation v 22 g r 11 cos 2 . (3)
m
For the evaluation, we proceed from the approximation that
the pendulums mass M and the Mass m of the captured ball Fig. 3 shows the function v (). Between 0 and 90 , the curve
move as one mass point at the location of their common cen- deviates only slightly from a straight line, i. e. the deflection of
tre of gravity. If we then set the potential energy of the pendu- the pendulum is, as a good approximation, proportional to the
lum in its resting position to zero, the following is valid for the velocity of the ball.
For the evaluation, determine the mass m of the ball. The posi-
tion of the centre of gravity with captured steel ball is marked
on the pendulums body. The mass M of the pendulums body
can only be determined together with its mounting. The exact
value is slightly less and can be obtained from the operating
instructions
2 21312-00 PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen
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Ballistic Pendulum 1.3.12
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Fig. 3: Theoretical calibration curve for a velocity measure- The determination of the moment of inertia I of a physical
ment with a ballistic pendulum. This is only an exem- pendulum is achieved by measuring its oscillation period T.
plary curve as the manufacturer reserves the right to For our pendulum the following results:
make technical alterations with regard to the properties
of the device.
1m M2 g r T2
I
4p2
mM r gT
and thus 22 11 cos w2 (3a)
m rb 2p
T
fcor 2r g .
2p rb
This formula becomes more illustrative if one substitutes the
following expression for T, in which rm is the length of a math-
ematical pendulum having the oscillation period T:
rm
T2p .
Bg
PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen 21312-00 3
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4 21312-00 PHYWE series of publications Laboratory Experiments Physics PHYWE SYSTEME GMBH & Co. KG D-37070 Gttingen