get the ball rolling with R2-D2
he’s having fun👀
it was a busy day at the Resistance base on the remote jungle planet of Yavin 4. R2-D2, the loyal astromech droid, was rushing to complete his assigned tasks before the next briefing with General Organa. as he trundled down a hill towards the landing platform, he noticed a small ball rolling ahead of him.⚽️
R2-D2 increased his speed, determined to catch up to the ball before it reached the bottom of the hill. just as he thought he had it within his grasp, the ball suddenly veered off course and rolled up a ramp leading to the platform.😮
cursing his luck, R2-D2 charged after the ball, his powerful motors propelling him up the inclined ramp. he finally caught up to the ball just as it reached the top of the platform, coming to a stop after rolling a distance of 10 meters.👀
panting and out of breath, R2-D2 calculated the time it had taken him to chase the ball up the ramp. he let out a triumphant beep as he determined the answer, pleased with his quick thinking and speed.✨
i love star wars duh. plus R2-D2 is so freaking cool🥰
kinematics i.e. the study of motion, is one of the most fundamental concepts in physics. it deals with how real world objects interact with each other.
it can be daunting in the beginning, but once we understand the rules of how it works, we will start seeing them everywhere around us. from how a gate turns around the hinge, to how a rocket moves out the earth’s orbit, its the same set of rules that come into play.
so there are 3 basic rules that kinematics revolves around. they are:
here:
v = final velocity
u = initial velocity
a = acceleration
t = time taken
s = displacement
most of the equations follow notations, but honestly its only necessary while learning. when we get comfortable with the concept we don’t really have to follow these rules.
conventions in physics help in the starting stages to get the idea, but later on it does feel stifling to follow them.
now let us simplify the R2-D2 scene above:
A ball is rolling down a hill at a constant velocity. At the bottom of the hill, there is a ramp that leads up to a platform. The ball rolls up the ramp and onto the platform, where it comes to a stop. The ramp is inclined at an angle of 30 degrees relative to the horizontal. The ball rolls a distance of 10 meters from the bottom of the hill to the top of the platform. How long does it take the ball to roll up the ramp and onto the platform?
using the equations given you will be able to find the exact amount of time R2-D2 took to chase the ball up the ramp😎
imma give some resources too so that y’all can mess around and learn. in the next issue i will break down this question and move on to the next one✨
resources
the physics hypertextbook => this website explains all the terms in detail. my suggestion is that, don’t try to understand every single small detail, try to mess around with the values and equations first.
physics visualiser => this is not directly related to the topic, but you will get a feel of how the various variables affect the motion of the body.
math in physics => probably gonna cover this in the next issue👀
ps: please try to not use ChatGPT for these questions as it will give a direct solution. the best part of messing around with kinematics is making mistakes🥺
see ya!