I recently came across this funny video of a cannon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo8Q88bAXyQ

LOLOLOLOLOL HAHAHAHA

Different Types of Energy

Energy is something that's all around us, in everything. The reason it has the ability to be in anything is because there are so many forms of it. Firstly, the two main forms are potential energy and kinetic energy.

This has a lot of potential energy

Kinetic Energy is the energy of a moving object. It considers the mass and velocity of the object when calculating the energy.

Potential Energy is the energy that the object has the potential of producing. There are many forms of this, the most simple being gravitational potential energy. That is when the object is not on the ground; it has the potential to accelerate towards the ground by gravity.

There are many more types of energy that root from potential and kinetic, they include: mechanical energy, heat energy, chemical energy, elastic energy, sound energy, and nuclear energy.

Mechanical energy is the combination of potential and kinetic energy. It is the energy associated with the motion or position of an object.

Heat energy is pretty much in everything. Unless the molecules of the particular item isn't moving at all, there will always be heat energy; although some things seem really cold, their molecules are still moving, although they are moving very slowly. It can be either potential or kinetic energy

This has potential energy too (elastic)

Chemical energy is produced when a chemical reaction occurs; it is a form of potential energy, because it involves energy that an object has the potential of producing.

Elastic energy is another form of potential energy produced when something is stretched out. It has the ability to return to its original shape, causing energy.

Sound energy is a form of kinetic energy. It is caused by movement, mostly a vibration that travels through a specific medium. The pressure is what usually causes the sound.

Nuclear energy is a form of potential energy since its the energy stored in specific atoms. Two types exist: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is when the atoms and molecules release energy when they split while nuclear fusion is when atoms produce energy when they are joined together. Nuclear fusion normally occurs at very high temperatures

cannons shoot stuff

Currently, in the wonderful physics class of Mr. Chung, we are required to prepare cannons that fire STUFF out of just cans and duct tape. How? Well I don't really know but here is what i do know about cannons:


-Cannons shoot stuff to cause DESTRUCTION
Throughout history, cannons have been pretty much the oldest style of artillery fire used for warfare. They fire heavy objects at incredible speeds, (Force=mass x acceleration according to Newton) which means that they fire with a lot of force. Therefore, they have the capability to do incredible damage.


-The ammunition for a cannon should be round and smooth.
Throughout history, the ammunition used for cannons have evolved for a simple cannonball (just as the name suggests it's a sphere...) to missile shaped objects. The reason for this is because the object that is utilized has to counteract air resistance as good as possible to fire the longest distance possible at the greatest speed possible. Round and smooth objects can carve through the air better than boxy and bumpy objects.


-Kinematics equation for Range is a good equation to use to determine the maximum distance the cannon can fire.

(d=V1²sin2θ/g)

-Cannons should be placed at a 45 degree angle to the horizontal to maximize the distance fired.

This is because increasing the angle will increase airtime for the projectile while the angle can't be increased too much since it won't fire forward anymore. For example, if the cannon is pointed at over 90 degrees, the projectile will fire backwards (into your own people...) while a 90 degree angle will cause the projectile to fire straight up (and it lands into your own people...) and an angle higher than 45 degrees won't have as much of a velocity in the x-axis. This means to achieve the most ideal distance, a 45 degree angle should be utilized.