Projectiles

Abstract

The previous two chapters explored the subjects of Newtonian mechanics and kinematics, and presented the basic equations that govern linear and rotational motion. It’s time now to apply those basic relations to a more specific problem, namely modeling the flight of a projectile. You will probably work with projectiles quite a lot in your game programming. There are, of course, obvious things like bullets and cannonballs, but other objects such as golf balls or tennis balls are essentially projectiles as well. The good news is that this book has already covered almost everything you need to know to model a projectile in flight. For the most part, projectile physics are straightforward application of Newtonian mechanics and kinematics.