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To: Leisler
In order for the dog to fly say 15 feet across water, how much must the dog be accelerated?

For an object launched at a 45 degree angle (ignoring air friction) to travel 9.8 meters, its initial velocity must be 14.7m/s; its vertical velocity on landing would be 9.8m/s, and its peak height would be 4.9 meters. Could a dog survive a 4.9m fall onto a hard surface without injury?

In order for the dog to be accelerated, how much must the 18 ton Swift boat be accelerated?

Ah, well this is where things get even more fun. If the dog and swift boat were rigid, for the dog to fly 9.8 meters and reach a peak height of 4.9 meters, the swift boat would also have to reach a comparable height. I think if the boat were blown that far out of the water, someone would have noticed it.

To be sure, it's possible for mechanical waves to travel through a structure without it moving significantly; the common "Newton's cradle" toys demonstrate this pretty well. Additionally, the legs of a startled dog may add some extra kinetic energy to the animal, causing it to fly further in response to a mechanical wave than would otherwise be the case. On the other hand, neither of these scenarios would allow a dog to get 'catapuleted' from one boat to another unless the boats were extremely close together (close enough that the dog could jump by itself) without the boat or other occupants being severely disrupted.

If the story were that the dog were knocked overboard by the mine and swam to another boat, that would be somewhat plausible perhaps, but the 'catapulting' story is absolutely sheer nonsense.

60 posted on 08/26/2004 12:12:36 AM PDT by supercat (If Kerry becomes President, nothing bad will happen for which he won't have an excuse.)
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To: supercat
Thanks, I had physics in high school and felt that the energy needed to toss a dog, that had traveled from a explosion, through the water and effected a 50 boat would have to be huge. Enough to destroy the boat.

Question, what about a say, 170 pound crewman?
61 posted on 08/26/2004 9:59:22 AM PDT by Leisler (Kerry, release your Department of Defense SF 180)
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