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How do you calculate disc weight at a certain speed
- Thread starter ALT-J
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- Dec 21, 2009
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Mass is an inherent quality of an object.
Force = mass x acceleration
Weight = mass x gravity
Gravity varies on different planets, but DGCR does not list any extraplanetary courses (yet?).
I assume the OP is asking about the force required to accelerate a disc to 80 mph, which will vary depending on the disc's mass.
Force = mass x acceleration
Weight = mass x gravity
Gravity varies on different planets, but DGCR does not list any extraplanetary courses (yet?).
I assume the OP is asking about the force required to accelerate a disc to 80 mph, which will vary depending on the disc's mass.
I kinda knew this was coming because I could not state the question properly because I dont know physics too well. But everyone knows a disc will feel very heavy for a split second in a good throw and objects inside the car become heavier in a crash etc. Thats the phenomena I tried to describe. Dont know what the actual name for it is.
The "weight" you feel at the hit is proportionate to how quickly you're accelerating the disc. Also proportionate to the disc's mass.
So even knowing the max speed (e.g. 80 mph) is not enough to calculate that force. You need to know how long it takes to get from 0 to 80 mph.
And even then, you're looking at an average over the acceleration period. Instantaneous forces will be higher at times.
...And also this is all in linear terms so far. Imparting spin on the disc involves more considerations.
So even knowing the max speed (e.g. 80 mph) is not enough to calculate that force. You need to know how long it takes to get from 0 to 80 mph.
And even then, you're looking at an average over the acceleration period. Instantaneous forces will be higher at times.
...And also this is all in linear terms so far. Imparting spin on the disc involves more considerations.
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The "weight" you feel at the hit is proportionate to how quickly you're accelerating the disc. Also proportionate to the disc's mass.
So even knowing the max speed (e.g. 80 mph) is not enough to calculate that force. You need to know how long it takes to get from 0 to 80 mph.
And even then, you're looking at an average over the acceleration period. Instantaneous forces will be higher at times.
...And also this is all in linear terms so far. Imparting spin on the disc involves more considerations.
Okay so that sounds like a very complex thing
. Maybe too complex for anyone to actually calculate it on a case. So basically the faster you accelerate it, the heavier it becomes? And if I read correctly along the lines, its just much easier for amateurs to make a slower acceleration to not slip before the hit and keep it under control? The whole pondering started from a conversation with a friend who claims that his grip and core strenght is not enough to hold the disc longer. So basically trying to proove him wrong here. I know its more of a form/balance issue.- Joined
- Dec 19, 2009
- Messages
- 6,840
Plugging 85 mph into Einstein's relativistic formula for how mass increases as speed increases, you get an increase in mass of one 718,048,409,976th of a gram for a 175 gram disc.
Okay so that sounds like a very complex thing
Ha, funny. I'd agree that it's more to do with technique than raw strength. But you do want the disc to "rip" out of your hand on most drives, rather than trying to time when you let go.
A value calculable but negligible. And I almost took it there, but that's pretty clearly not what the OP had in mind.
R-Ogre
Double Eagle Member
Do they not teach physics in school any more?
etdefender19
Eagle Member
The disc also gets slightly flatter, in proportion to the sine of the nose angle, due to relativistic length contraction
Yeah I think they do. But disc golf was not much of a thing back then here I Finland when I went to school
etdefender19
Eagle Member
I threw my Falcon (by Millenium Discs) through the entire Kessel course in 12 parsecs
Okay so that sounds like a very complex thing
Yes, they still teach physics----but no one pays attention in class anymore.
Yes, it can be calculated. But then you've got to get into newtons, centripetal and centrifugal forces, moment arms, etc. Don't worry about it unless you've got a few weeks to hit the books. Just out-throw your buddies.
R-Ogre
Double Eagle Member
I mean, you don't have to complicate it that much. If you have slow-mo footage with accurate time stamps and a radar gun you could pretty easily get an "assuming a horse is a sphere" number with F=ma. Since the OP just wanted to know about how it feels I think that'd be close enough.
If you're really hitting properly, that disc is gonna pop out of your hand. If you have a friend try to pull it out of your hand, chances are they will have great difficulty doing so. So There's a pretty good chance, a disc probably ejects with at least 200 newtons of force (conservative estimate). A 175g disc is about .0098 newtons (from gravity). So when you throw it, at the hit, it's going to feel at least 20,000 x heavier than it normally does, except sideways.
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Uhhh...I'm getting closer to 1.72 Newtons. At least on earth's surface, with the acceleration of gravity of 9.81 m/s^2.
Or for us dumb Muricans: about 0.39 pounds(force) at 32.2 ft/s^2.
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