Native people throughout North and South America used a bola to hunt for birds and animals. A bola can consist of three stones, each with mass m, at the ends of three light cords, each with length l. The other ends of the cords are tied together to form a Y. The hunter holds one stone and swings the other two stones above her head. Both stones move together in a horizontal circle of radius 2l with speed v0. At a moment when the horizontal component of their velocity is directed toward the quarry, the hunter releases the stone in her hand. As the bola flies through the air, the cords quickly take a stable arrangement with constant 120-degree angles between them. In the vertical direction, the bola is in free fall. Gravitational forces exerted by the Earth make the junction of the cords move with the downward acceleration . You may ignore the vertical motion as you proceed to describe the horizontal motion of the bola
Native people throughout North and South America used a bola to hunt for birds and animals. A bola can consist of three stones, each with mass m, at the ends of three light cords, each with length l. The other ends of the cords are tied together to form a Y. The hunter holds one stone and swings the other two stones above her head. Both stones move together in a horizontal circle of radius 2l with speed v0. At a moment when the horizontal component of their velocity is directed toward the quarry, the hunter releases the stone in her hand. As the bola flies through the air, the cords quickly take a stable arrangement with constant 120-degree angles between them. In the vertical direction, the bola is in free fall. Gravitational forces exerted by the Earth make the junction of the cords move with the downward acceleration . You may ignore the vertical motion as you proceed to describe the horizontal motion of the bola
