Nimish Ajmani wrote:
> Not sure if this is the proper place to put this, but...
> 
> I need help with the physics of a mid-air explosion.  I have a ship travelling
> in an atmosphere, at about 4000 units per clock.  It is supposed to explode in
> mid-air, but I am wondering how the resulting debris would travel.  Would it
> travel both to the ground and to an eventual stop, or what.
> 
> Any knowledge would be most appreciated.

The solid fragments will fly off in all directions, with the total 
momentum equal to the total momentum of the ship before the explosion.

Acceleration will be be comprised of an amount from gravity (constant 
acceleration, straight down), plus a component of drag (directly 
opposite current motion, directly proportional to velocity, directly 
proportional to cross-sectional area, inversely proportional to mass). 
Remember that velocities and accelerations are all vector values. 
Choose the right coefficient of drag and you will have a convincing path 
of motion for each particle.

The fireball is gaseous, and while it may have a large mass, it will 
also have a very large wind resistance, and less gravity, so its 
trajectory will depart from the solid fragments very quickly.

You will probably need to do some math to step through each frame 
leading up to the frame that you're rendering.

Regards,
John

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