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Aprojectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an externalforce and then moves freely under the influence ofgravity andair resistance.[1][2] Although any objects inmotion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found inwarfare andsports (for example, a thrownbaseball, kickedfootball, firedbullet, shotarrow, a ball from acannon, stone released fromcatapult).[3][4]
Inballistics, mathematicalequations of motion are used to analyze projectiletrajectories through launch,flight, andimpact.
Blowguns andpneumatic rifles use compressed gases, while most otherguns andcannons utilize expanding gases liberated by sudden chemical reactions bypropellants likesmokeless powder.Light-gas guns use a combination of these mechanisms.
Railguns utilize electromagnetic fields to provide acceleration along the entire length of the device, greatly increasing themuzzle velocity.
Some projectiles providepropulsion during flight by means of arocket engine orjet engine. In military terminology, arocket is unguided, while amissile isguided. Note the two meanings of "rocket" (weapon and engine): anICBM is a guided missile with a rocket engine.
An explosion, whether or not by a weapon, causes the debris to act as multiple high velocity projectiles. An explosive weapon or device may also be designed to produce many high velocity projectiles by the break-up of its casing; these are correctly termedfragments.
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In projectile motion the most important force applied to the projectile mass is the propelling force[6]. In many sports, the propelling forces are provided by muscles that accelerate the projectile (ball, disc, javelin, hammer, dart), and the stronger the propelling force, the faster and farther the projectile will travel. Seepitching,bowling.
Many projectiles, e.g.shells, may carry an explosive charge or another chemical or biological substance. Aside from explosive payload, a projectile can be designed to cause special damage, e.g. fire (see alsoearly thermal weapons), or poisoning (see alsoarrow poison).
Akinetic energy weapon (also known as kinetic weapon, kinetic energy warhead, kinetic warhead, kinetic projectile, kinetic kill vehicle) is a projectile weapon based solely on a projectile'skinetic energy to inflictdamage to a target, instead of using anyexplosive,incendiary,chemical orradiologicalpayload. All kinetic weapons work by attaining a high flight speed – generallysupersonic or even up tohypervelocity – andcollide with their targets, converting their kinetic energy and relativeimpulse into destructiveshock waves,heat andcavitation. In kinetic weapons withunpowered flight, themuzzle velocity orlaunch velocity often determines theeffective range andpotential damage of the kinetic projectile.
Kinetic weapons are the oldest and most common ranged weapons used inhuman history, with the projectiles varying from blunt projectiles such asrocks andround shots, pointed missiles such asarrows,bolts,darts, andjavelins, to modern tapered high-velocity impactors such asbullets,flechettes, andpenetrators. Typical kinetic weapons accelerate their projectiles mechanically (bymuscle power,mechanical advantage devices,elastic energy orpneumatics) or chemically (bypropellantcombustion, as withfirearms), but newer technologies are enabling the development of potential weapons usingelectromagnetically launched projectiles, such asrailguns,coilguns andmass drivers. There are also concept weapons that are accelerated bygravity, as in the case ofkinetic bombardment weapons designed forspace warfare.
The term hit-to-kill, or kinetic kill, is also used in the militaryaerospace field to describe kinetic energy weapons accelerated by arocket engine. It has been used primarily in theanti-ballistic missile (ABM) andanti-satellite weapon (ASAT) fields, but some modernanti-aircraft missiles are also kinetic kill vehicles. Hit-to-kill systems are part of the wider class of kinetic projectiles, a class that has widespread use in theanti-tank field.
Some projectiles stay connected by a cable to the launch equipment after launching it:
An object projected at an angle to the horizontal has both the vertical and horizontal components of velocity. The vertical component of the velocity on the y-axis is given as while the horizontal component of the velocity is. There are various calculations for projectiles at a specific angle:
1. Time to reach maximum height. It is symbolized as (), which is the time taken for the projectile to reach the maximum height from the plane of projection. Mathematically, it is given as where = acceleration due to gravity (app 9.81 m/s²), = initial velocity (m/s) and = angle made by the projectile with the horizontal axis.
2. Time of flight (): this is the total time taken for the projectile to fall back to the same plane from which it was projected. Mathematically it is given as.
3. Maximum Height (): this is the maximum height attained by the projectile OR the maximum displacement on the vertical axis (y-axis) covered by the projectile. It is given as.
4. Range (): The Range of a projectile is the horizontal distance covered (on the x-axis) by the projectile. Mathematically,. The Range is maximum when angle = 45°, i.e..
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