Mathematical Derivations
Most physics textbooks provide a simplified method of calculation that uses the mass of the bullet and pendulum and the height of the pendulum's travel to calculate the amount of energy in the pendulum, and thus the amount of momentum in the system. This ignores the small amount of momentum involved in rotating the pendulum. Robins' calculations were significantly more involved, and used a measure of the period of oscillation to determine the rotational inertia of the system.
Read more about this topic: Ballistic Pendulum
Famous quotes containing the word mathematical:
“As we speak of poetical beauty, so ought we to speak of mathematical beauty and medical beauty. But we do not do so; and that reason is that we know well what is the object of mathematics, and that it consists in proofs, and what is the object of medicine, and that it consists in healing. But we do not know in what grace consists, which is the object of poetry.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)