Newston's ballistic equations solved...

[sirgilligan]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ger...al-riddle-first-proposed-by-sir-isaac-newton/

I have to look up this solution. It took me two months to write my ballistics calculator in Gun Log. I am very curious what he solved. Currently the plot of a bullet's drag is discontinuous, and thus requires a solution that is done "step by step".

A great story of a young man applying himself to a problem.

 

[56hawk]

When I took differential equations we solved projectile motion for the cases of drag being a function of v and v². Wonder what he solved, and how it fits the empirical data.

 

[YankeeFlyr]

Yeah, he might have figured out how to get around varying BCs with varying velocities...?

 

[45crittergitter]

It's been a while since I actually derived the typical ballistics formula for my own edification, but if memory serves, the main problem is that the formula is inexact/incorrect, and is "corrected" by use of the BC (which is itself a variation of a form factor). But any given BC cannot always correct for the variations caused by the incorrect formula, so the results are just good approximations. The use of multiple BCs may generate more accurate results, but are just treating the symptom, not the problem. You may wish to read up on the various "G1," "G2," etc. form factors used to establish BCs. I'm unfamiliar with the new discovery, and haven't seen any specific info on what the breakthrough was, but will look into it one day.