The link between potential gravitational energy and kinetic energy.

K.E. = 1/2 m v2.

P.E. = mgh
GPE = mgh
Ep = mgh

*m*v2 = kinetic energy

m = mass of the object
v= velocity of the object

If the mass has units of kilograms and the velocity of meters per second the kinetic energy
has units of kilograms meters squared per second squared.

Chemists divide energy into two classes. Kinetic energy is energy possessed by an object in
motion. The earth revolving around the sun, you walking down the street, and molecules moving in
space all have kinetic energy.

Kinetic energy is directly proportional to the mass of the object and to the square of its velocity: K.E.
= 1/2 m v2. If the mass has units of kilograms and the velocity of meters per second, the kinetic
energy has units of kilograms-meters squared per second squared. Kinetic energy is usually
measured in units of Joules (J); one Joule is equal to 1 kg m 2 / s2.

Calculate the kinetic energy in Joules possessed by each of the following objects.
Remember to use the correct number of significant figures in your answer.
A. A 500 g wooden block moving at 2 m/s. J
B. A 71 kg man walking at 1.0 m/s. J
C. A 71 kg man running at 5.0 m/s. J
D. A 1816 kg car (2 tons) travelling at 26.8 m/s (60 mph). J

Potential energy is energy an object has because of its position relative to some other object.
When you stand at the top of a stairwell you have more potential energy than when you are at the
bottom, because the earth can pull you down through the force of gravity, doing work in the
process. When you are holding two magnets apart they have more potential energy than when they
are close together. If you let them go, they will move toward each other, doing work in the process.

The formula for potential energy depends on the force acting on the two objects. For the
gravitational force the formula is P.E. = mgh, where m is the mass in kilograms, g is the
acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m / s2 at the surface of the earth) and h is the height in meters.
Notice that gravitational potential energy has the same units as kinetic energy, kg m 2 / s2. In
fact, all energy has the same units, kg m 2 / s2, and is measured using the unit Joule (J).
 M = 12kg
H = 18m
G = 9.8N

EGP = mgh
EGP = 12 * 9.8 * 18
EGP = 211.8J

EK = mv2 is equivalent to mgh = mv2

mv2 = mgh
mv2 = 2mgh
v2 = 2mgh/m (m cancels each other)
v2 = 2gh
v = 2
v = 18.78m/sec2

When an object is dropped, the kinetic energy with the formula of EGP = mgh
increases as the potential energy with the formula of decreases.

F (Force) P (momentum)
W (Weight)

M (Mass) V (Velocity)
M (Mass) A (Acceleration) M (Mass) G (Gravity)

Acceleration m/s/s
= mv mu
= (mass x final velocity) (mass x initial velocity)
u = initial speed = 15km/h
= final speed = 15km/h
mass = 200kg
= (200 x 15) (200 x 5)
= m/s/s

ME (Mechanical energy) = KE (Kinetic energy) + PE (Potential energy)

An object that is moving only because of the action of gravity is said to be
free falling and its motion is described by Newton's second law of motion. ... The
acceleration is constant and equal to the gravitational acceleration g which is 9.8
meters per square second at sea level on the Earth.

Sir Isaac Newton first presented his three laws of motion in the "Principia
Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis" in 1686. His first law states that every object
will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change
its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition
of inertia. The key point here is that if there is no net force acting on an object (if all
the external forces cancel each other out) then the object will maintain a constant
velocity. If that velocity is zero, then the object remains at rest. And if an additional
external force is applied, the velocity will change because of the force.

An object falling through the atmosphere is a good example of this principle. Just
prior to release, the velocity of the object is zero, the object is at rest. The weight
force acting on the object is balanced by the tension force in the rope holding the
object. There is no net force on the object, and the object would remain at
rest indefinitely. If the rope is cut, the tension force in the rope no longer acts on the
object; the object is subjected to a single force, the gravitational attraction of the
earth. Since there is no initial air resistance, the object begins to free fall and
accelerate. But as the object velocity increases, it encounters air resistance,
or drag, which opposes the motion. The magnitude of the drag depends on the
square of the velocity. The drag increases until it is equal to the weight. At that point,
there is again no net external force on the object, the acceleration goes to zero, and
the body falls at a constant terminal velocity. The magnitude of the terminal velocity
depends on the relative magnitude of the weight, the drag coefficient, the
air density, and the size of the object.

Now, as the object continues to fall at the terminal velocity, it encounters air with an
ever-increasing density. The density is a function of the
air pressure and temperature, which are themselves functions of altitude. So, the
terminal velocity decreases slightly as the object falls to earth; it is not truly a
constant value. You can study this effect with an interactive simulator at this web
site.

Sir Isaac Newton first presented his three laws of motion in the "Principia
Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis" in 1686. His second law defines a force to be
equal to the change in momentum with a change in time. Momentum is defined to
be the mass m of an object times its velocity V.

Let us assume that we have an airplane at a point "0" defined by its location X0 and
time t0. The airplane has a mass m0 and travels at velocity V0. The airplane is
subjected to an external force F and moves to a point "1", which is described by a
new location X1 and time t1. The mass and velocity of the airplane change during
the flight to values m1 and V1. Newton's second law can help us determine the new
values of V1 and m1, if we know how big the force F is. Let us just take the
difference between the conditions at point "1" and the conditions at point "0".

F = (m1 * V1 - m0 * V0) / (t1 - t0)

Newton's second law talks about changes in momentum (m * V) so, at this point, we
can't separate out how much the mass changed and how much the velocity
changed. We only know how much product (m * V) changed.

Let us assume that the mass stays a constant value equal to m. This assumption is
pretty good for an airplane, the only change in mass would be for the fuel burned
between point "1" and point "0". The weight of the fuel is probably small relative to
the weight of the rest of the airplane, especially if we only look at small changes in
time.. If we were discussing the flight of a baseball, then certainly the mass remains
a constant. But if we were discussing the flight of a bottle rocket, then the mass does
not remain a constant and we can only look at changes in momentum. For a
constant mass m, Newton's second law looks like:

F = m * (V1 - V0) / (t1 - t0)

The change in velocity divided by the change in time is the definition of the
acceleration a. The second law then reduces to the more familiar product of a mass
and an acceleration:

F=m*a

Remember that this relation is only good for objects that have a constant mass. This
equation tells us that an object subjected to an external force will accelerate and that
the amount of the acceleration is proportional to the size of the force. The amount of
acceleration is also inversely proportional to the mass of the object; for equal forces,
a heavier object will experience less acceleration than a lighter object. Considering
the momentum equation, a force causes a change in velocity; and likewise, a change
in velocity generates a force. The equation works both ways.

The velocity, force, acceleration, and momentum have both a magnitude and
a direction associated with them. Scientists and mathematicians call this a vector
quantity. The equations shown here are actually vector equations and can be applied
in each of the component directions. We have only looked at one direction, and, in
general, an object moves in all three directions (up-down, left-right, forward-back).
The motion of an aircraft resulting from aerodynamic forces, aircraft weight,
and thrust can be computed by using the second law of motion.

Sir Isaac Newton first presented his three laws of motion in the "Principia
Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis" in 1686. His third law states that for every
action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, if
object A exerts a force on object B, then object B also exerts an equal and opposite
force on object A. Notice that the forces are exerted on different objects.

For aircraft, the principal of action and reaction is very important. It helps to explain
the generation of lift from an airfoil. In this problem, the air is deflected downward by
the action of the airfoil, and in reaction the wing is pushed upward. Similarly, for
a spinning ball, the air is deflected to one side, and the ball reacts by moving in the
opposite direction. A jet engine also produces thrust through action and reaction.
The engine produces hot exhaust gases which flow out the back of the engine. In
reaction, a thrusting force is produced in the opposite direction.
An object that falls through a vacuum is subjected to only one external force, the
gravitational force, expressed as theweight of the object. The weight
equation defines the weight W to be equal to the mass of the object m times the
gravitational acceleration g:

W=m*g

the value of g is 9.8 meters per square second on the surface of the earth. The
gravitational acceleration g decreases with the square of the distance from the
center of the earth. But for many practical problems, we can assume this factor to be
a constant. An object that moves because of the action of gravity alone is said to
be free falling. If the object falls through theatmosphere, there is an additional drag
force acting on the object and the physics involved with the motion of the object is
more complex.

The motion of any moving object is described by Newton's second law of motion,
force F equals mass m times acceleration a:

F=m*a
We can do a little algebra and solve for the acceleration of the object in terms of the
net external force and the mass of the object:

a=F/m

For a free falling object, the net external force is just the weight of the object:

F=W

Substituting into the second law equation gives:

a = W / m = (m * g) / m = g

The acceleration of the object equals the gravitational acceleration. The mass, size,
and shape of the object are not a factor in describing the motion of the object. So all
objects, regardless of size or shape or weight, free fall with the same acceleration. In
a vacuum, a beach ball falls at the same rate as an airliner. Knowing the
acceleration, we can determine thevelocity and location of any free falling object at
any time.

The remarkable observation that all free falling objects fall with the same
acceleration was first proposed by Galileo Galileinearly 400 years ago. Galileo
conducted experiments using a ball on an inclined plane to determine the
relationship between the time and distance traveled. He found that the distance
depended on the square of the time and that the velocity increased as the ball
moved down the incline. The relationship was the same regardless of the mass of
the ball used in the experiment. The experiment was successful because he was
using a ball for the falling object and the friction between the ball and the plane was
much smaller than the gravitational force. He also used a very shallow incline, so the
velocity was small and the drag on the ball was very small compared to the
gravitational force. (The story that Galileo demonstrated his findings by dropping two
cannon balls off the Leaning Tower of Pisa is just a legend.).
An object that falls through a vacuum is subjected to only one external force, the
gravitational force, expressed as the weight of the object. An object that is moving
only because of the action of gravity is said to be free falling and its motion is
described by Newton's second law of motion. With algebra we can solve for
the acceleration of a free falling object. The acceleration is constant and equal to
the gravitational acceleration g which is 9.8 meters per square second at sea level
on the Earth. The weight, size, and shape of the object are not a factor in describing
a free fall. In a vacuum, a beach ball falls with the same acceleration as an airliner.
Knowing the acceleration, we can determine the velocity and location of any free
falling object at any time using the following equations.

V=a*t

X = .5 * a * t^2

where a is the acceleration, V is the velocity, and X is the displacement from an

initial location. If the object falls through the atmosphere, there is an additional drag
force acting on the object and the physics involved with describing the motion of the
object is more complex.
Here is a table of calculated acceleration (meters per second squared), velocity
(meters per second), and displacement (meters) at 1 second intervals.

Time = 0, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 0.0, Distance = 0.0

Time = 1, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 9.8, Distance = 4.9

Time = 2, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 19.6, Distance = 19.6

Time = 3, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 29.4, Distance = 44.1

Time = 4, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 39.2, Distance = 78.4

Time = 5, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 49.0, Distance = 122.5

Time = 6, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 58.8, Distance = 176.4

Time = 7, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 68.6, Distance = 240.1

Time = 8, Accel = 9.8, Velocity = 78.4, Distance = 313.6

Notice that the acceleration is a constant, the velocity increases linearly, and the
location increases quadratically.

The remarkable observation that all free falling objects fall at the same rate was first
proposed by Galileo, nearly 400 years ago. Galileo conducted experiments using a
ball on an inclined plane to determine the relationship between the time and distance
traveled. He found that the distance depended on the square of the time and that the
velocity increased as the ball moved down the incline. The relationship was the
same regardless of the mass of the ball used in the experiment. The story that
Galileo demonstrated his findings by dropping two cannon balls off the Leaning
Tower of Pisa is just a legend. However, if the experiment had been attempted, he
would have observed that one ball hit before the other! Falling cannon balls are not
actually free falling - they are subject to air resistance and would fall at
different terminal velocities.
An object which is falling through the atmosphere is subjected to two
external forces. One force is the gravitational force, expressed as the weight of the
object. The other force is the air resistance, or drag of the object. If the mass of an
object remains constant, the motion of the object can be described by
Newton's second law of motion, force F equals mass m times acceleration a:

F=m*a

which can be solved for the acceleration of the object in terms of the net external
force and the mass of the object:

a=F/m

Weight and drag are forces which are vector quantities. The net external force F is
then equal to the difference of the weight W and the drag D

F=W-D

The acceleration of a falling object then becomes:

 a = (W - D) / m

The magnitude of the drag is given by the drag equation. Drag D depends on a drag
coefficient Cd, the atmospheric densityr, the square of the air velocity V, and some
reference area A of the object.

D = Cd * r * V ^2 * A / 2

On the figure at the top, the density is expressed by the Greek symbol "rho". The
symbol looks like a script "p". This is the standard symbol used by aeronautical
engineers. We are using "r" in the text for ease of translation by interpretive software.

Drag increases with the square of the speed. So as an object falls, we quickly reach
conditions where the drag becomes equal to the weight, if the weight is small. When
drag is equal to weight, there is no net external force on the object and the vertical
acceleration goes to zero. With no acceleration, the object falls at a constant velocity
as described by Newton's first law of motion. The constant vertical velocity is called
the terminal velocity .

Using algebra, we can determine the value of the terminal velocity. At terminal
velocity:

D=W

Cd * r * V ^2 * A / 2 = W

Solving for the vertical velocity V, we obtain the equation

V = sqrt ( (2 * W) / (Cd * r * A)

where sqrt denotes the square root function. Typical values of the drag coefficient
are given on a separate slide.

Here's a Java calculator which will solve the equations presented on this page:

Due to IT security concerns, many users are currently experiencing problems running NASA Glenn
educational applets. There are security settings that you can adjust that may correct this problem.

The chemistry of the atmosphere and the gravitational constant of a planet affects
the terminal velocity. You select the planet using the choice button at the top left.
You can perform the calculations in English (Imperial) or metric units. You must
specify the weight or mass of your object. You can choose to input either the weight
on Earth, the local weight on the planet, or the mass of the object. Then you must
specify the cross sectional area and the drag coefficient. Finally you must specify the
atmospheric density. We have included models of the atmospheric density variation
with altitude for Earth and Mars in the calculator. When you have the proper test
conditions, press the red "Compute" button to calculate the terminal velocity.

You can download your own copy of this calculator for use off line. The program is
provided as TermVel.zip. You must save this file on your hard drive and "Extract" the
necessary files from TermVel.zip. Click on "Termvcalc.html" to launch your browser
and load the program.

When you have gained some experience with the terminal velocity calculator and are
familiar with the variables and operation, you can run a simple version of the
program on-line. The simple version contains just the calculator and no instructions
and it loads faster than the version given above.

Notice In this calculator, you have to specify the drag coefficient. The value of the
drag coefficient depends on the shape. of the object and on compressibility effects in
the flow. For airflow near and faster than the speed of sound, there is a large
increase in the drag coefficient because of the formation of shock waves on the
object. So be very careful when interpreting results with large terminal velocities. If
your drag coefficient includes compressibility effects, then your answer is correct. If
your drag coefficient was determined at low speeds, and the terminal velocity is very
high, you are getting the wrong answer because your drag coefficient does not
include compressibility effects.

The terminal velocity equation tells us that an object with a large cross-sectional area
or a high drag coefficient falls slower than an object with a small area or low drag
coefficient. A large flat plate falls slower than a small ball with the same weight. If we
have two objects with the same area and drag coefficient, like two identically sized
spheres, the lighter object falls slower. This seems to contradict the findings of
Galileo that all free falling objects fall at the same rate with equal air resistance. But
Galileo's principle only applies in a vacuum, where there is NO air resistance and
drag is equal to zero.

We have also developed a simple simulation of a falling object to help you study this
interesting physics problem. The program is called DropSim and is available for free
at this web site.
The drag coefficient is a number which aerodynamicists use to model all of the
complex dependencies of drag on shape,inclination, and some flow conditions. The
drag coefficient Cd is equal to the drag D divided by the
quantity: density r timesreference area A times one half of the velocity V squared.

Cd = D / (.5 * r * V^2 * A)

This slide shows some typical values of the drag coefficient for a variety of shapes.
The values shown here were determined experimentally by placing models in a wind
tunnel and measuring the amount of drag, the tunnel conditions of velocity and
density, and the reference area of the model. The drag equation given above was
then used to calculate the drag coefficient. The projected frontal area of each object
was used as the reference area. A flat plate has Cd = 1.28, a wedge shaped prism
with the wedge facing downstream has Cd = 1.14, a sphere has a Cd that varies
from .07 to .5, a bullet Cd = .295, and a typical airfoil Cd = .045.

We can study the effect of shape on drag by comparing the values of drag coefficient
for any two objects as long as the same reference area is used and the Mach
number and Reynolds number are matched. All of the drag coefficients on this slide
were produced in low speed (subsonic) wind tunnels and at similar Reynolds
number, except for the sphere. A quick comparison shows that a flat plate gives the
highest drag and a streamlined symmetric airfoil gives the lowest drag, by a factor of
almost 30! Shape has a very large effect on the amount of drag
produced. Comparing the flat plate and the prism, and the sphere and the bullet, we
see that the downstream shape can be modified to reduce drag. The drag coefficient
for a sphere is given with a range of values because the drag on a sphere is highly
dependent on Reynolds number.

You can further investigate the effect of airfoil shape and the other factors affecting
drag by using the FoilSim III Java Applet.You can also download your own copy of
FoilSim to play with for free.
Newtons Laws of Motion
By Jim Lucas, Live Science Contributor | June 26, 2014 06:04pm ET

A painting of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir Godfrey Kneller, dated to 1689.

Credit: Sir Godfrey Kneller

Sir Isaac Newton's three laws of motion describe the motion of massive bodies and how they
interact. While Newtons laws may seem obvious to us today, more than three centuries ago
they were considered to be revolutionary.

Newton was one of the most influential scientists of all time. His ideas became the basis for
modern physics. He studied optics, astronomy and math he invented calculus. (German
mathematician Gottfried Leibniz is also credited with developing it independently at about
the same time.)

Newton is perhaps best known for his work in studying gravity and the motion of planets.
Urged on by astronomer Edmond Halley, Newton published his laws in 1687, in his seminal
work Philosophi Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy) in which he formalized the description of how massive bodies move under the
influence of external forces.

In formulating his three laws, Newton simplified his treatment of massive bodies by
considering them to be mathematical points with no size or rotation. This allowed him to
ignore factors such as friction, air resistance, temperature, material properties, etc., and
concentrate on phenomena that can be described solely in terms of mass, length and time.
Consequently, the three laws cannot be used to describe precisely the behavior of large rigid
or deformable objects; however, in many cases they provide suitably accurate
approximations.
Newtons laws pertain to the motion of massive bodies in an inertial reference frame,
sometimes called a Newtonian reference frame, although Newton himself never described
such a reference frame. An inertial reference frame can be described as a 3-dimensional
coordinate system that is either stationary or in uniform linear motion., i.e., it is not
accelerating or rotating. He found that motion within such an inertial reference frame could
be described by 3 simple laws.
The First Law of Motion states, A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will
remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force. This simply means that things
cannot start, stop, or change direction all by themselves. It takes some force acting on them
from the outside to cause such a change. This property of massive bodies to resist changes in
their state of motion is sometimes called inertia.
The Second Law of Motion describes what happens to a massive body when it is acted upon
by an external force. It states, The force acting on an object is equal to the mass of that
object times its acceleration. This is written in mathematical form as F = ma, where F is
force, m is mass, and a is acceleration. The bold letters indicate that force and acceleration
are vectorquantities, which means they have both magnitude and direction. The force can be
a single force, or it can be the vector sum of more than one force, which is the net force after
all the forces are combined.

When a constant force acts on a massive body, it causes it to accelerate, i.e., to change its
velocity, at a constant rate. In the simplest case, a force applied to an object at rest causes it to
accelerate in the direction of the force. However, if the object is already in motion, or if this
situation is viewed from a moving reference frame, that body might appear to speed up, slow
down, or change direction depending on the direction of the force and the directions that the
object and reference frame are moving relative to each other.

The Third Law of Motion states, For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
This law describes what happens to a body when it exerts a force on another body. Forces
always occur in pairs, so when one body pushes against another, the second body pushes
back just as hard. For example, when you push a cart, the cart pushes back against you; when
you pull on a rope, the rope pulls back against you; when gravity pulls you down against the
ground, the ground pushes up against your feet; and when a rocket ignites its fuel behind it,
the expanding exhaust gas pushes on the rocket causing it to accelerate.

If one object is much, much more massive than the other, particularly in the case of the first
object being anchored to the Earth, virtually all of the acceleration is imparted to the second
object, and the acceleration of the first object can be safely ignored. For instance, if you were
to throw a baseball to the west, you would not have to consider that you actually caused the
rotation of the Earth to speed up ever so slightly while the ball was in the air. However, if you
were standing on roller skates, and you threw a bowling ball forward, you would start moving
backward at a noticeable speed.

The three laws have been verified by countless experiments over the past three centuries, and
they are still being widely used to this day to describe the kinds of objects and speeds that we
encounter in everyday life. They form the foundation of what is now known as classical
mechanics, which is the study of massive objects that are larger than the very small scales
addressed by quantum mechanics and that are moving slower than the very high speeds
addressed by relativistic mechanics.
Parachute

Background
A parachute is a device used to slow the movement of a person or object as it
falls or moves through the air. Used primarily for safe descent from high altitudes
(e.g., a spacecraft reentering the atmosphere, a person or object dropped from
an airplane), parachutes can also be used in horizontal configurations to slow
objects like race cars that have finished their runs.

There are two basic types of parachutes. One is a dome canopy made of fabric in
a shape that ranges from a hemisphere to a cone; the canopy traps air inside its
envelope, creating a region of high pressure that retards movement in the
direction opposite the entering air flow. The other is a rectangular parafoil, or
ram-air canopy, consisting of a series of tubular cells; commonly used by sport
jumpers, the parafoil acts as a wing, allowing the jumper to "fly" toward a target.
Either type of parachute weighs less than 15 lb (7 kg) and costs from $1,200-
$ 1,500.

In addition to the fabric canopy, a parachute designed to be used by a person

must be equipped with a harness that is worn by the user. Attached to the
harness is a container that holds the canopy; often this is a back-pack, but it can
also extend low enough for the user to sit on it. There is an actuation device that
opens the container and releases the canopy for use; one of the most common
actuation devices is a ripcord. When the container is opened, a small pilot chute
about 3 ft (1 m) in diameter is pulled out, either by a spring mechanism or by
hand. This pilot chute, in turn, pulls the main canopy from the container. Some
type of deployment device, such as a fabric sleeve, is used to slow the opening
of the canopy so that the suspension lines will have time to straighten. A gradual
opening of the canopy also reduces the shock to the equipment and the user
that a more sudden opening would cause.
History
There is some evidence that rigid, umbrella-like parachutes were used for
entertainment in China as early as the twelfth century, allowing people to jump
from high places and float to the ground. The first recorded design for a
parachute was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495. It consisted of a pyramid-
shaped, linen canopy held open by a square, wooden frame. It was proposed as
an escape device to allow people to jump from a burning building, but there is
no evidence that it was ever tested.

Parachute development really began in the eighteenth century. In 1783 Louis-

Sebastien Lenormand, a French physicist, jumped from a tree while holding two
parasols. Two years later, J. P. Blanchard, another Frenchman, used silk to make
the first parachute that was not held open by a rigid frame. There is some
evidence that he used the device to jump from a hot air balloon.

There is extensive evidence that Andre Jacques Garnerin made numerous

parachute jumps from hot air balloons, beginning in 1797. His first jump, in Paris,
was from an altitude of at least 2,000 ft (600 m). In 1802, he jumped from an
altitude of 8,000 ft (2,400 m); he rode in a basket attached to a wooden pole that
extended downward from the apex (top) of the canopy, which was made of either
silk or canvas. The parachute assembly weighed about 100 lb (45 kg). During the
descent, the canopy oscillated so wildly that Garnerin became airsick. In fact, he
was once quoted as saying that he "usually experienced [painful vomiting] for
several hours after a descent in a parachute." In 1804, French scientist Joseph
Lelandes introduced the apex venta circular hole in the center of the canopy
and thus eliminated the troublesome oscillations.

Americans became involved in parachute development in 1901 when Charles

Broadwick designed a parachute pack that was laced together with a cord. When
the parachutist jumped, a line connecting the cord with the aircraft caused the
cord to break, opening the pack and pulling out the parachute. In 1912, Captain
Albert Berry of the U.S. Army accomplished the first parachute jump from a
moving airplane. Parachutes did not become standard equipment for American
military pilots until after World War I (German pilots used them during the final
year of that war).

Parachutes were widely used during World War II, not only as life-saving devices
for pilots, but also for troop deployment. In 1944, an American named Frank
Derry patented a design that placed slots in the outer edge of the canopy to
make a parachute steerable.

The world record for the highest parachute jump was set in 1960. Joe Kittinger, a
test pilot for the U.S. Air Force's Project Excelsior ascended in a balloon to an
altitude of 102,800 ft (31 km) and jumped. Using only a 6ft (1.8 m) parachute to
keep him in a stable, vertical position, he experienced essentially free fall for four
minutes and 38 seconds, reaching a speed of 714 mph (1,150 km/h). At an
altitude of 17,500 ft (5.3 km), his 28-ft (8.5-m) parachute opened. In all, his fall
lasted nearly 14 minutes.

Raw Materials
Parachute canopies were first made of canvas. Silk proved to be more practical
because it was thin, lightweight, strong, easy to pack, fire resistant, and springy.
During World War II, the United States was unable to import silk from Japan, and
parachute manufacturers began using nylon fabric. The material turned out to be
superior to silk because it was more elastic, more resistant to mildew, and less
expensive. Other fabrics, such as Dacron and Kevlar, have recently been used for
parachute canopies, but nylon remains the most popular material. More
specifically, parachutes are made of "ripstop" nylon that is woven with a double
or extra-thick thread at regular intervals, creating a pattern of small squares. This
structure keeps small tears from spreading.

Other fabric components such as reinforcing tape, harness straps, and suspension
lines are also made of nylon. Metal connectors are made of forged steel that is
plated with cadmium to prevent rusting. Ripcords are made from stainless steel
cable.
One parachute manufacturing plant lists its monthly materials use as exceeding
400,000 sq yd (330,000 m 2 ) of fabric, 500,000 yd (455 km) of tape and webbing,
2.3 million yd (2,000 km) of cord, and 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of thread.

Design
A dome canopy may consist of a flat circle of fabric, or it may have a conical or
parabolic shape that will not lie flat when spread out. It has a vent hole at the
apex to allow some air to flow through the open canopy. Some designs also have
a few mesh panels near the outer edge of the canopy to aid in steering the
descent. Some designs use continuous suspension lines that run across the entire
span of the canopy and extend to the harness on each end. Othersas described
in "The Manufacturing Process"use segments of suspension lines that are
attached only to the outer edge of the canopy (and across the apex vent).

The Manufacturing
Process

Assembling

1 Ripstop nylon cloth is spread on a long table and cut according to

pattern pieces. The cutting may be done by a computer-guided
mechanism or by a person using a round-bladed electric knife.
2 Four trapezoidal panels are sewn together to form a wedge-shaped
"gore" about 13 ft (3.96 m) long. A two-needle industrial sewing machine
stitches two parallel rows, maintaining consistent separation between
 A typical dome canopy parachute.

the rows. To provide sufficient strength and enclose the raw fabric edges, a
"French fell" seam is used; an attachment on the sewing machine folds the
cloth edges as a highly skilled operator feeds the material through it.
Depending on the parachute's specific design, a few of the gore sections
may be sewn using mesh rather than ripstop nylon fabric for the largest
panel.

3 A number of gores (typically 24) are sewn together, side by side, to form
a circular canopy. The seams are sewn in the same manner as in Step 2.
4 Every panel and every seam is carefully inspected on a lighted inspection
table to make certain that the seams are correctly folded and sewn and
that there are no flaws in the cloth. If any weaving defects, sewn-in pleats,
or an incorrect number of stitches per inch is found, the canopy is
rejected. The problems are recorded on an inspection sheet, and they must
be repaired before additional work is done.
 A. French fell seam. B. Needle hem. C. V-tab. D. Outside view of stitched v-tab.

Finishing

5 A tape the same width as the original seam is sewn on top of each radial
seam using two more rows of stitching. This tape strengthens the canopy.
6 The top of each gore is a few inches (several centimeters) wide; after the
gores are sewn together, their tops form a small open circle (the vent) at
the center of the canopy. To reinforce the vent and to keep the cloth from
fraying, the fabric is rolled around a piece of webbing and sewn with a
four-needle sewing machine, which stitches four parallel rows at once.
7 The bottom of each gore is 2-3 ft (0.5-1 m) wide. Sewn together, these
edges form the outer edge (the skirt) of the canopy. This edge is finished
in the same manner as the vent, as in Step 6.
8 A short piece of reinforcing tape is sewn to the skirt at each radial tape.
It is folded into a "V" pointing outward from the canopy. A specialized
automatic sewing machine, designed for this specific operation, is used to
sew precisely the same number of stitches in exactly the same pattern
every time.
9 One end of a 20 ft (6 m) long suspension line is threaded through each
V-shaped tab, which will distribute the load from the line to a section of
the skirt hem. Using a special zigzag pattern that is both strong and
 elastic, the suspension cord is sewn to the canopy's hem tape and to the
canopy seam for a length of 4-10 in (10-25 cm).
10 After the 24 suspension lines are sewn to the canopy, 12 1 ft (30 cm)
long apex lines are similarly sewn to the central vent. One end of each line
is stitched into a V-tab, then the line crosses the vent to the opposite
seam where the other end is stitched into a V-tab.

Rigging

11 The canopy is attached to the harness by tying the suspension lines to

steel connector links on the harness. The lines must not be twisted or
tangled if the parachute is to function properly. Attaching the lines to their
correct sequential positions on the connecting links of the harness and
making certain that the lines are straight is called rigging the parachute.
The line end may be knotted at the harness link, or the end may be
threaded back inside the line like a "Chinese fingertrap."
12 To keep the attaching knot or fingertrap from untying, the end of each
suspension

A. Two half hitches. B. Clove and half hitch. C. Braided suspension line.

line is zigzag stitched to the main section of the line.

 13 Every assembly operation, every seam, even every stitch is reviewed for
completion and correctness. When the parachute is approved, it is marked
with a serial number, the date of manufacture, and a final inspection
stamp.
14 A parachute rigger licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) assembles the component parts (e.g., canopy, suspension lines, pilot
chute) and carefully folds and arranges them in the pack, securing it with
the appropriate activation device such as a ripcord.

Quality Control
The quality control systems used by parachute manufacturers must meet the
requirements for civil and/or military aviation equipment established by the
federal government, under the supervision of the FAA. In addition to the lighted
inspection tables mentioned, other types of testing equipment include tensile test
machines (to measure strength of fabric and seams while being pulled),
permeameters (to test the amount of air that can pass through the fabric), and
basic measuring devices (e.g., to count stitches per inch).

The Future
Like other manufacturers, parachute makers continually search for better
materials and designs. Perhaps the most intriguing future development for
parachutes, however, is their potential use to control the emergency descent of
entire aircraft. At least one company, Ballistic Recovery Systems Inc. (BRS), is
already manufacturing such General Aviation Recovery Devices (GARDs) for use
on small airplanes.

Using an extremely low-porosity, strong, lightweight fabric for the canopy, the
manufacturer bakes a 1,600-square-foot (150-m 2 ) canopy and vacuum-packs it
into a 15106-in (382515-cm) bag weighing 25 lb (10 kg). The pack is
installed inside the roof liner of the airplane near its center of gravity. To ensure
that the parachute will deploy even in low-altitude emergencies, it is activated by
a small rocket device.
By the late 1990s, more than 14,000 light and ultralight airplanes have already
been equipped with GARDs costing $2,000-$4,000 each. As of June 1998, BRS
had documented 121 lives saved by the devices. The FAA has approved a GARD
system for two models of Cessnaairplanes.

A system of five parafoils has been proposed for use on Boeing 747 commercial
airliners. The complex system would allow the pilot to control the deployment of
each canopy. Rather than dropping the airplane straight down, the system would
establish a glide path that would allow the pilot to control and land the craft. The
practicality of the proposed system has not yet been proven.
How to Make an Egg Drop
Experiment With a Parachute
By Lee Johnson; Updated April 24, 2017

Learning how to create a parachute to safely drop an egg can spark a student's
interest in physical forces like gravity and air resistance. Air resistance is basically
friction with gas particles, which can slow down the speed of a falling object.
Parachutes work on this idea, and this experiment is designed to show how air
resistance can be used to safely drop an egg from 10 ft. or higher. Many aspects of
this project can be changed for variables, but the main one is the size of the
parachute. Determine whether larger parachutes work more efficiently than smaller
ones.

Cut three squares out of plastic trash bags. Each square should be cut with different
dimensions to test whether larger parachutes are more effective. Cut one square so
it is 10 inches square, one so it is 20 inches square and the final one 30 inches
square. Use a ruler to ensure that these measurements are precise. Cut the squares
using scissors.
Tie a piece of string around the corners of the three squares. Tie the knot as close to
the end of the string as possible. Put a small piece of Scotch tape on the corners of
each square. This helps to strengthen the link between the plastic and the string,
making it easier to create a working parachute. You will then be left with three
parachutes that have four pieces of string dangling from each, held in place by tape
and the original knot.
Tie the other ends of the string to the two corners of a sandwich bag near the
opening. Tie two pieces of string to each corner. Reinforce the connections with
Scotch tape in the same way as before. Do this on each of the three parachutes, so
you have a large bin liner square attached to a sandwich bag with string. The
sandwich bag will hold your egg.
Put an egg in each sandwich bag, and find a suitable location to drop the parachute.
Drop the parachutes from at least 10 ft high to get the best result. Predict which
parachute will work best. Understand that gravity will pull the parachute down to the
ground, but the large surface of the plastic bags will create more air resistance. This
eventually leads to the parachutes hitting terminal speed, where the air resistance
counteracts the gravity and the egg drifts safely to the ground.
Determine which parachute was more effective. Discount any egg that breaks on
impact with the ground. Watch to see which parachute catches the air and reaches
terminal speed first. Watch for the change between falling and gliding to see this.

g = the acceleration due to gravity

m = the mass of the rocket (propellant consumed)
= the density of air at
Cd= the coefficient of drag of the parachute
V = the descent velocity of the rocket