A comprehensive analysis of the ‘coming and going’ phenomenon of the projectile motion of a sphere under air resistance

Abstract

Abstract We have analyzed the ‘coming and going’ phenomenon of the projectile motion of a sphere using experimental data correlations that span the entire range of Reynolds numbers. We have modeled the drag force using an analytical expression for the drag coefficient and performed a numerical analysis to compute the critical angle as a function of the sphere’s initial speed, radius, and mass. Our results indicate that the critical angle behaves analogously to the drag coefficient as a function of the Reynolds number. This study is significant as it deals with a drag force not limited to any specific flow regime and may help undergraduate students and science instructors delve deeper into the subject.