The Ballistic Pendulum

This neat device allows one to calculate the speed of a speeding bullet from one measurement of
length and two measurements of mass.

Warning: The equipment includes a spring-loaded gun. Do not touch the trigger until the
catcher is in position and you are familiar with the equipment. Always leave the gun unloaded.
If in doubt about any aspect of the device, talk to your instructor.

Operation of the ballistic pendulum

1. Load the gun by placing the ball on the end of the rod and compressing the spring until it is
caught by the trigger mechanism.
2. Ensure that the catcher is hanging straight down and is aligned with the gun. The functioning of
the equipment is very sensitive to this alignment, so this part may take some time.
3. Fire the ball into the catcher.
4. The catcher with the ball will swing and should be caught at the top of its swing by the ratchet.

Calculating the balls initial velocity

We will use the symbols mb and mc to represent the masses of the ball and catcher respectively.
Immediately after the collision the ball and catcher have kinetic energy given by
1
KE = /2(mb + mc)v2after
At the top of the swing, the kinetic energy is zero and the potential energy is given by
PE = (mb + mc)gh
Because energy is conserved in the swing, PE = KE, and therefore velocity after the collision is
given by
vafter = (2gh)1/2
Immediately after the collision momentum is given by
pafter = (mb + mc) vafter
Because momentum is conserved in the collision, pbefore = pafter, and therefore velocity before the
collision is given by
vbefore = (mb + mc) vafter/mb

MG 99 / RY 01 / MG 04 / MG 05 1/3 PH150L
 ball fired into
catcher on pendulum

pendulum caught
by ratchet

Figure 1. Operation of the ballistic pendulum. Upper left: loaded pendulum ready to be fired. Upper
right: ball traveling toward catcher on pendulum. Lower: Catcher and ball caught by ratchet at the
top of their swing.

Procedure
Load and fire the gun.

Measure the mass of the ball, the mass of the catcher, and the height gained by the catcher and ball
combination during the swing.

Calculate the initial velocity of the ball.

Using the momentum change of the ball and its initial velocity, discuss and analyze the forces acting
during the collision and the time interval involved.

Calculate the energy lost during the collision.

Explain why energy is conserved in the swing and momentum is conserved in the collision, but energy
is not conserved in the collision and momentum is not conserved in the swing.

MG 99 / RY 01 / MG 04 / MG 05 2/3 PH150L
Ballistic Pendulum

Equipment required:

1) Ballistic Pendulum- in shelves 'H'.

2) Weighing Machine- on shelve 'G'.
3) Meter Scale- in shelves 'K'.

MG 99 / RY 01 / MG 04 / MG 05 3/3 PH150L