0

Have a pneumatic cannon that launches a mouse via a pusher plate when lured into the barrel. How many Gs will the mouse feel when launched?

Pusher Plate Stroke = 8"

Distance Mouse Travels (at 45 deg): 20 feet

Weight of Mouse: 0.8oz (is this needed?)

This is a real thing that has attracted some criticism for being cruel to animals, even though it is one of many ways to collect vermin for disposal. I'd like to be able to point out that the G forces are non-lethal. The mouse/rat is in contact with the pusher plate at the time of firing so it isn't smacked in the face with the pusher...it's pushed. I figured that if a human cannonball can be fired for 200 feet uninjured, what about this mouse being shot 20 feet into a bucket?

Wingsy
  • 3
  • I would approach this by first figuring out the launch velocity. We know the range of the projectile, and we can (at least numerically) solve for the initial velocity (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_of_a_projectile). After that, consider the movement in the barrel. The initial velocity (zero) and end velocity (solved in previous step) are known now, and also the distance that it travels in the barrel. Then you can solve for the acceleration. – Matti P. Jun 03 '19 at 06:13
  • Is the landing at the same level as the barrel? That's the quantity $y_0$ in the equation. – Matti P. Jun 03 '19 at 06:13
  • Thanks for looking into this Matti. And yes, the landing is at the same level as the cannon. – Wingsy Jun 03 '19 at 11:42

1 Answers1

1

Let's first solve for the launch velocity. If the landing is at the same level as the cannon, the range of a projectile (assuming no air drag etc) is $$ d = \frac{v^2}{g} \sin{2 \theta} $$ where $v$ is the launch velocity, $g$ is the acceleration of gravity and $\theta$ is the launch angle. Solving for $v$, we obtain $$ v_{\text{launch}} = \sqrt{ \frac{dg}{\sin{2\theta}} } $$ Now let's look a the the barrel. It's essentially a linear path that the projectile goes through before launching into the air. The initial velocity is zero, so the following equation ca be written for the velocity of the projectile within the barrel: $$ v(t) = at \qquad \Rightarrow \qquad t = \frac{v_{\text{launch}}}{a} $$ where $a$ is a (constant) acceleration and $t$ is time. On the other hand, integrating this equation, we can obtain the equation for the distance (as a function of time) inside the barrel: $$ s(t) = \frac{1}{2}at^2 $$ plugging in the previous result for time, we obtain $$ s(t) = \frac{1}{2} a \left( \frac{v_{\text{launch}}}{a}\right)^2 = \frac{ v^2_{\text{launch}} }{2a} $$ from which we can solve for the acceleration $a$: $$ a = \frac{ v^2_{\text{launch}} }{2s} $$ Here, $s$ is the length of the barrel. Now we can plug in the result for the launch velocity: $$ a = \frac{ \left( \frac{dg}{\sin{2\theta}} \right) }{2s} = \frac{dg}{2s \, \sin{2\theta}} $$ the "G" acceleration is specifically acceleration divided by $g$, so the "G" acceleration as a formula is $$ \frac{a}{g} = \frac{d}{2s\, \sin{2 \theta}} = \frac{ \left(6.096~\text{m} \right)}{2 \left(0.203~\text{m} \right) \sin{90^{\circ}}} \approx 15~\text{g's} $$

Matti P.
  • 6,012
  • Thank you very much Matti. I believe a mouse can withstand 15 Gs for a fraction of a second without damage. – Wingsy Jun 04 '19 at 09:22
  • You're welcome. If you feel like I answered your question, feel free to mark and upvote it. – Matti P. Jun 04 '19 at 10:19