Throwing a ball east vs west.

[Sorcerer]

Is it true that if you throw a ball west, with the same power as a ball east, that it will travel further?

 

If so what % distance difference would there be?

 

Does a ball thrown in a straight line north or south actually curve. What's the mathematical function of that line?

 

Would it be variable by altitude and lattitude due to increasing circumference of the rotational circle?

 

How would throwing a ball in an arc or parabola compare to thrown as straight as possible?

 

How does this apply to aviation?

 

How does it affect ballistics. Are nukes programmed to compensate? What about artillery, is the ranging different?

 

If you throw a ball straight up and catch it does it make an arc, is the ball spinning when on the poles?

 

What energy could be obtained if we designed technology to use the variation in energy or gradient between larger circles and smaller ones?

Edited December 11, 2015 by Sorcerer

[billiards]

I think what you are looking for is the Coriolis Effect

This is the apparent deflection of a moving object due to the rotation of the Earth.

 

Also I'd like to see you try to throw a ball in curve that was not a parabola!

[Sorcerer]

Would using the spin of the earth as an energy source slow it down. How would that effect the planet?

I think what you are looking for is the Coriolis Effect

This is the apparent deflection of a moving object due to the rotation of the Earth.

 

Also I'd like to see you try to throw a ball in curve that was not a parabola!

I remember now, it effects the weather and trade winds, the rotational reversal between hemispheres.

 

I guess that's part of the energy source for weather, the rest being from the suns heat and convection currents.

 

Is any rotational energy lost due to lending its energy to the weather. Will the earth eventually stop spinning.

 

How fast is it slowing down and does this alter the coriolis effect over time.

 

Would this be a real but insignificant factor in a model of a ball thrown over a short time?

Would the weather have been different because of an increased coriolis effect say 100 million years ago?

If we wanted to make a spacecraft land on a distant planet in an exact spot. Would we have to factor in the loss of spin over time or be in the wrong spot?

This is interesting :

 

"Gyroscopic precession

 

When an external torque is applied to a spinning gyroscope along an axis that is at right angles to the spin axis, the rim velocity that is associated with the spin becomes radially directed in relation to the external torque axis. This causes a Coriolis force to act on the rim in such a way as to tilt the gyroscope at right angles to the direction that the external torque would have tilted it. This tendency has the effect of keeping spinning bodies stably aligned in space."

Edited December 11, 2015 by Sorcerer

[swansont]

 

Also I'd like to see you try to throw a ball in curve that was not a parabola!

Watch a baseball game sometime. Especially if the pitcher throws a knuckleball.

[Sorcerer]

The straight line is the ideal, but of course gravity will turn a balls path to a slight curve.

 

What I was getting at is that there should be a difference between steeper arcs and shallower ones. Is there?

 

The coriolis force, being called a pseudo force and derived from newton's laws and a special reference frame. How does it relate in Einsteins theory and what explanation does relativity give it?

[billiards]

Watch a baseball game sometime. Especially if the pitcher throws a knuckleball.

 

Of course, I should have added the standard caveat "on a planet with no air"!

[Janus]

Is it true that if you throw a ball west, with the same power as a ball east, that it will travel further?

No, Throwing it East has it traveling further

If so what % distance difference would there be?

That depends on how fast you throw it. If you release the ball on a flat level trajectory at 20 m/s(45 mph)at a height of 2 meters, it will land 12.8007932 meters away throwing it East and 12.79698969 meters away when throwing it West ( ignoring air resistance) that's a difference of just under 3/100 of a percent. Faster speeds will make larger differences.

Does a ball thrown in a straight line north or south actually curve. What's the mathematical function of that line?

technically the path doesn't curve (except towards the center of the Earth. What happens is that the ball follows an orbital trajectory that differs from the movement of the ground under it due to the Earth's rotation, this makes the path look curved when measured with respect to the ground.

Would it be variable by altitude and lattitude due to increasing circumference of the rotational circle?

As altitude increases the effect will magnify (get high enough and even throwing the ball East at 20 m/s would be enough to put it into orbit around Earth. Different latitudes have a different effect. the tangential speed of the Earth surface decreases as you move towards the poles ( at the 45th parallel it has decreased to 327 m/s from 463 m/s at the Equator. Also, even if you throw the ball directly East or West, it will seem to curve as measured with respect to the ground(towards the South in the Northern Hemisphere and to the North in the Southern Hemisphere). When you release the ball, it will follow a trajectory centered around the center of the Earth, While the spot on the ground at which you are standing circles around a point on the axis which is not at the center.

How would throwing a ball in an arc or parabola compare to thrown as straight as possible?

If you mean throwing the ball at some angle other than parallel to the ground, it effects the overall trajectory of the ball( and makes the calculating the impact point a bit more difficult)

How does this apply to aviation?

Other than in how the rotation of the Earth effects winds aloft, then no. Planes fly with respect to the air, which, in the most part, is carried along with the Earth as it rotates

How does it affect ballistics. Are nukes programmed to compensate? What about artillery, is the ranging different?

long range ballistics are quite effected But since the effects are calculable ahead of time, it is just a matter of adjusting the initial aim.

If you throw a ball straight up and catch it does it make an arc, is the ball spinning when on the poles?

if you throw it straight up it will come straight back down (the poles are the only place where the ball launched straight up will come straight back to exactly where it was launched). As far as the ball spinning, yes it does, but so will you and at the same rate, so relative to you, the ball will not spin.

[Sorcerer]

Could you use a spinning body like a motor. Say if a drive shaft gravitationally locked between the earth and a relatively stationary body in space, couldn't the spin of the earth be used to rotate a turbine in a generator and produce electricity.

 

It guess it's similar to tidal locking with the moon, the tides can be used to make electricity.

 

Does this energy transfer slow the earth down over time?

[imatfaal]

 

Of course, I should have added the standard caveat "on a planet with no air"!

 

I think the parabola is technically only an estimation - reliant on the (completely reasonable) assumption that compared to the length of the throw the earth is flat and gravitational attraction is unchanging in direction. When you get to silly lengths of ballistic trajectories (paris gun etc) you have to treat the earth as spherical and the equations are - IIRC - hyperbole (or is it a section of an ellipse) because the object is actually attracted to a point rather than in a constant direction.