Correct Answer! - Veritasium's Bullet Block Experiment
The problem was that both blocks reached the same height, even though the same type of bullet hit them and one was rotating. Conservation of energy says that energy can't be created nor destroyed, so how is this possible? My goal was the answer that.
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I was correct! Veritasium released his response: • Bullet Block Explained!
Thanks for Watching! Many of these clips were taken directly from Veritasium's 2 videos, which you can check out here:
• The Bullet Block Experiment
• Bullet Block Experiment Result
Credit To:
http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/78...
for helping figure this out
/ 1veritasium
for some video clips and question
If there are any mistakes or anything wrong with this video, by all means, please leave it in the comments below, as I am only human.
Youtube, it's Cram. This is a response to Veritasium's bullet block experiment, so go watch that video before watching this one. Here is my answer, but I am not 100% sure so wait until Veritasium's follow up video. So, basically, both blocks went the same height because more energy was lost in the first impact, about 99%. No matter how where you hit the block, there will be an equal amount of upward force. When the bullet hit in the middle, most of the kinetic energy is lost due to sound, heat and friction. This is because the center of mass was where the bullet was shot, so the block had to stay straight when the bullet made contact. This meant the bullet could lodge itself deep inside the block without the block moving out of its way. This compression and splitting of the block used a lot of the bullet's kinetic energy. But, when the bullet hit the side of the block, the block rotated slightly, since the center of mass was not where the bullet was shot. This meant the bullet could only lodge itself so deep before the block rotated too much for the bullet. Therefore the kinetic energy that was previously used to lodge itself deep inside the block was now used to rotate the block. This allows both blocks to reach the same height, with the same amount of energy. You have to remember that the difference in penetration is quite tiny, and that the amount of energy required to rotate the block of that size is also very small, which is why a small factors can affect the outcome so much. You went out of your way to watch this video, so I'm going out of my way to thank you. Subscribe to stay up to date. Until next time, Cram out.
In case you are wondering, the reason why energy cannot be lost or created is because of the laws of thermodynamics. This is also an inelastic collision, meaning energy is wasted, but not lost.
Music: Clenched Teeth by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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