.
When this system is in
equilibrium, the
tension in
the
The
force
of
gravity
acting on the lead ball can easily be
wire acts at an angle to the level coordinate
system.
modeled
by
Newton's
second
law:
F
= ma. In doing so,
The tension is also acting in the upward direction.
we can estimate the force to be around 45 Newtons.
This tension force has an "x"
and "y" components.
The "x" component results in forward motion while
the "y" component counteracts gravitational force.
The force applied to
the lead ball due to drag is portrayed by: F = Kv^2
Where K is a drag
constant to be determined experimentally, and v is velocity.
K is also directly
proportional to the area of the lead weight, experimentally derived
drag coefficient, and density of the liquid (in our case, salt water).
In the photo below, one
can see the actual disturbances made by an object traveling through a
liquid. In our scenario,
this is exactly what's happening.
Just now we've examined how physics acts on one component of our
system. To summarize, the net force
acting on the downrigger lead ball is zero because the velocity is
constant (no acceleration). Because of drag
the lead ball is theoretically suspended in a liquid at an angle behind
the boat. Now let's analyze some other components...
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