Redstone Arsenal has asked your team of students about the feasibility of a new projectile launcher that will save rocket fuel. Their idea is basically an electric slingshot that consists of 4 electrodes arranged in a horizontal square with sides of length d at a height h above the ground. The projectile is then placed on the ground aligned with the center of the square. A power supply will provide each of the four electrodes with a charge of +Q/4 and the projectile with a charge -Q. When the projectile is released from rest, it moves up and passes through the center of the square. At the instant it reaches the square's center, the power supply is turned off and the electrodes are grounded, giving them a zero electric charge. To test this idea, you decide to use energy considerations to calculate how big Q will have to be to get a 100 kg projectile to achieve the speed of sound 343 m/sec. Assume that the projectile starts from 15 meters below the square of electrodes and that the sides of the square are each 5 meters. Estimate the amount of current, which will be necessary to neutralize the four electrodes as the projectile passes through.
Redstone Arsenal has asked your team of students about the feasibility of a new projectile launcher that will save rocket fuel. Their idea is basically an electric slingshot that consists of 4 electrodes arranged in a horizontal square with sides of length d at a height h above the ground. The projectile is then placed on the ground aligned with the center of the square. A power supply will provide each of the four electrodes with a charge of +Q/4 and the projectile with a charge -Q. When the projectile is released from rest, it moves up and passes through the center of the square. At the instant it reaches the square's center, the power supply is turned off and the electrodes are grounded, giving them a zero electric charge. To test this idea, you decide to use energy considerations to calculate how big Q will have to be to get a 100 kg projectile to achieve the speed of sound 343 m/sec. Assume that the projectile starts from 15 meters below the square of electrodes and that the sides of the square are each 5 meters. Estimate the amount of current, which will be necessary to neutralize the four electrodes as the projectile passes through.
