A ballistic pendulum is a device for measuring a bullet's momentum, from which it is possible to calculate the velocity and kinetic energy. Ballistic pendulums have been largely rendered obsolete by modern chronographs, which allow direct measurement of the projectile velocity.
Although the ballistic pendulum is considered obsolete, it remained in use for a significant length of time and led to great advances in the science of ballistics. The ballistic pendulum is still found in physics classrooms today, because of its simplicity and usefulness in demonstrating properties of momentum and energy. Unlike other methods of measuring the speed of a bullet, the basic calculations for a ballistic pendulum do not require any measurement of time, but rely only on measures of mass and distance.
In addition its primary uses of measuring the velocity of a projectile or the recoil of a gun, the ballistic pendulum can be used to measure any transfer of momentum. For example, a ballistic pendulum was used by physicist C. V. Boys to measure the elasticity of golf balls, and by physicist Peter Guthrie Tait to measure the effect that spin had on the distance a golf ball traveled.
Read more about Ballistic Pendulum: History, Mathematical Derivations
Other articles related to "ballistic pendulum, pendulum":
... author, and researcher, described how to construct and use a ballistic pendulum in his 1962 Handbook for Shooters Reloaders, Volume I ... Ackley's pendulum used a parallelogram linkage, with a standardized size that allowed a simplified means of calculating the velocity ... Ackley's pendulum used pendulum arms of exactly 66.25 inches (168.3 cm) in length, from bearing surface to bearing surface, and used turnbuckles located in the middle of the arms to provide a means of ...
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