Two identical heavy metal spheres are released from the same height. Sphere 1 is at rest, and sphere 2 has a velocity of 10 m/s in horizontal direction.
they still land at the same time.
at the same time
To understand what happens when the two identical heavy metal spheres are released from the same height, one at rest (Sphere 1) and the other with a velocity of 10 m/s in the horizontal direction (Sphere 2), we need to analyze the forces acting on the spheres and their motions.
Firstly, it's important to note that the spheres are identical in weight, so they experience the same gravitational force due to their mass. This gravitational force acts vertically downward on both spheres, causing them to accelerate downwards.
Sphere 1 is at rest, which means it has an initial velocity of 0 m/s in both the horizontal and vertical directions. When it is released, the only force acting on it is gravity. As a result, Sphere 1 accelerates downwards under the influence of gravity. Its velocity increases in the vertical direction, but since there are no horizontal forces acting on it, its velocity in the horizontal direction remains 0 m/s. Sphere 1 follows a purely vertical downward path.
On the other hand, Sphere 2 has an initial velocity of 10 m/s in the horizontal direction. When it is released, it also experiences the gravitational force acting vertically downwards. However, this force does not affect its horizontal motion because gravity only acts vertically. As a result, Sphere 2 maintains its horizontal velocity of 10 m/s throughout its motion. At the same time, it is accelerated downwards due to gravity, just like Sphere 1. This creates a parabolic path for Sphere 2, known as a projectile motion. The horizontal component of its velocity (10 m/s) remains constant, while the vertical component increases due to the gravitational force.
In summary, Sphere 1 follows a purely vertical path, while Sphere 2 follows a parabolic path with a constant horizontal velocity of 10 m/s. Both spheres are influenced by gravity, causing them to accelerate downwards, but the initial horizontal velocity of Sphere 2 allows it to maintain its horizontal motion as well.