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druidniam t1_iugthsj wrote

You want the sub reddit /r/theydidthemath not ELI5. Hopefully you see this before your post is removed.

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Fred2718 t1_iugvqnm wrote

The problem is wrongly stated. 2500 kg is a mass, not a force. Also, no specifics of the atmosphere are provided. Is it, for instance, STP? Also "How fast" is not a good question. This projectile will have a non-linear acceleration due to air friction. If it goes transonic, it gets even messiet.

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FlyJunior172 t1_iugwhkp wrote

There’s not actually enough information here to solve this problem.

Here’s why: force is the product of mass and acceleration. It can also be defined as the derivative (or rate of change) of momentum. We’ll use the first definition here. In the metric system, force is measured in newtons, abbreviated N with base units of kg·m/s². In imperial, that unit is pounds, abbreviated lb with base units slug·ft/s². So now what we have is a stick that we know weighs 9.8N, and an applied load that we can’t use because it’s given in units of mass.

Now, if for example, the applied load were equivalent to an object that would show as 2.5Mg on a bathroom scale, then the base acceleration becomes easy to find. We sim the forces and divide by the mass of the stick: ((2500×9.81)-9.81)÷1=24515.191406 m/s²

But there’s another problem: without knowing more about the stick, we can’t really calculate drag. We’d need a wind tunnel for that. See, drag is a finicky thing that depends a lot on the surface of the object moving through the fluid. Without knowing more about the object, form drag is the best we can calculate, and even that can get fiendishly complicated.

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Phage0070 t1_iugzqzu wrote

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

ELI5 is not for straightforward answers or facts - ELI5 is for requesting an explanation of a concept, not a simple straightforward answer.

If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the detailed rules first. If you believe this was removed erroneously, please use this form first. If you believe this was removed erroneously, please use this form and we will review your submission.

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