Canon

Our new class assignment is to build an ethanol fueled canon. the challenge is to build a cannon that has the longest range. Before actually build it we have to first design it in order to achieve a longer range. In order to achieve that goal, some background research was needed. It was very hard to find background information about cannon because almost all the searching results are about the brand called Canon, but I was still able to pull something out.

According to research, there are basically two factors that can affect the range of the ethanol fueled cannon. The first factor is the angle of the barrel. Angle is a very important factor to maximize the range. Consider this, the energy given is about the same which is 3ml of ethanol, and we already know from projectile motion that gravitational force is the reason why cannon ball will fall. Therefore, if we threw a ball too high, the v_y factor will have a bigger value, therefore the maximum height may be very high, but the vx will be smaller because the energy is taken by vy. And if we threw a ball too low, the vx factor will be bigger but since the vy is smaller, the ball will land on the floor very soon. Therefore, 45°is the angle that can have the maximum range because all vectors are equal.

The second factor that can affect the range is the height of the cannon. As I mentioned above, angles that are below 45 degree have a bigger vx component, but due to the insufficient of vy, the ball will land on the floor very fast. But if the height of the cannon was increased, the vy component will increase too. Therefore, the ball will have a longer hang time and this will maximize the range.