Post by dvandom on May 25, 2008 15:27:29 GMT -5
Within limits, of course.
There's three basic categories of missile launching system, divided up by the physics: energy limited, momentum limited and speed limited. For different reasons, each tends to get better results with more massive missiles, so long as the missile isn't so big as to prevent launching in the first place.
Before discussing each type, I should point out that what makes a missile effective is momentum transfer. Specifically, angular momentum transfer, since you want it to make something tip over. But angular momentum is related to linear momentum and where you hit, so it's good enough to consider linear momentum (mass times speed).
Energy limited: This is the default kind for Attacktix. A spring or other mechanism is used to store energy, which is then turned into kinetic energy for the missile. Kinetic energy is related to mass times speed squared, so if you halve the speed you get four times as much mass for the same energy. In other words, an 8g medium missile will come out of the same spring-launcher at half the speed of a 2g small missile. But, since momentum is important here, four times mass and half speed means a medium missile would have twice the momentum given the same launcher energy. So, hang more mass onto a missile and you make the launcher more powerful, within limits (too much mass and it won't clear the end of the launcher!).
Momentum limited: I think of these as "marble shooter" launchers or "Cyberjet missiles". You have a marble as the projectile, or a missile with a round chunk in the middle somewhere. It snaps into a claw, and you fire by pressing against the back until you overcome the force of the claw and the ball or missile snaps out. The force is determined by the claw's strength, and the amount of time that force can be exerted is also determined by the geometry of the claw (in some cases you have a fixed distance rather than a fixed time, which becomes an energy limited launcher instead). Now, momentum transfer is force times time, so it doesn't matter how massive you make the missile, it's going to get the same amount of momentum from being pushed out of the launcher.
In this case, modifying the missile can't really increase hitting power, unless you can make the ball part a little bigger and therefore require more force to launch...and that's hard to do in a way that won't break off. However, while you can't increase the momentum itself, you can improve the missile's ability to transfer momentum to its target. You want it to bounce straight back if possible (change in momentum equalling twice the initial momentum), or at least stick to the target (change in momentum equalling the initial momentum). You DON'T want it glancing off at a shallow angle. So, for momentum-limited missiles, the trick is to make a forked head that maximizes the tangle potential while not introducing too much air drag. Something like Dirt Boss's forked missile, or three mutually opposing prongs. A blob of sticky poster tack might also work, but it's harder to keep clean.
Speed limited: Any missile that's purely muscle powered, like finger-flick missiles, will be limited by how fast you can move your fingers. The missile is likely to be MUCH less massive than your finger, so how much speed it picks up depends only on how fast your finger moves, since you can assume the finger is "infinitely massive". Oh, and it helps to strike squarely with the flat of a fingernail. Anyway, since making the missile heavier won't affect the speed so long as it's a lot lighter than a finger, more mass means more momentum.
---Dave
There's three basic categories of missile launching system, divided up by the physics: energy limited, momentum limited and speed limited. For different reasons, each tends to get better results with more massive missiles, so long as the missile isn't so big as to prevent launching in the first place.
Before discussing each type, I should point out that what makes a missile effective is momentum transfer. Specifically, angular momentum transfer, since you want it to make something tip over. But angular momentum is related to linear momentum and where you hit, so it's good enough to consider linear momentum (mass times speed).
Energy limited: This is the default kind for Attacktix. A spring or other mechanism is used to store energy, which is then turned into kinetic energy for the missile. Kinetic energy is related to mass times speed squared, so if you halve the speed you get four times as much mass for the same energy. In other words, an 8g medium missile will come out of the same spring-launcher at half the speed of a 2g small missile. But, since momentum is important here, four times mass and half speed means a medium missile would have twice the momentum given the same launcher energy. So, hang more mass onto a missile and you make the launcher more powerful, within limits (too much mass and it won't clear the end of the launcher!).
Momentum limited: I think of these as "marble shooter" launchers or "Cyberjet missiles". You have a marble as the projectile, or a missile with a round chunk in the middle somewhere. It snaps into a claw, and you fire by pressing against the back until you overcome the force of the claw and the ball or missile snaps out. The force is determined by the claw's strength, and the amount of time that force can be exerted is also determined by the geometry of the claw (in some cases you have a fixed distance rather than a fixed time, which becomes an energy limited launcher instead). Now, momentum transfer is force times time, so it doesn't matter how massive you make the missile, it's going to get the same amount of momentum from being pushed out of the launcher.
In this case, modifying the missile can't really increase hitting power, unless you can make the ball part a little bigger and therefore require more force to launch...and that's hard to do in a way that won't break off. However, while you can't increase the momentum itself, you can improve the missile's ability to transfer momentum to its target. You want it to bounce straight back if possible (change in momentum equalling twice the initial momentum), or at least stick to the target (change in momentum equalling the initial momentum). You DON'T want it glancing off at a shallow angle. So, for momentum-limited missiles, the trick is to make a forked head that maximizes the tangle potential while not introducing too much air drag. Something like Dirt Boss's forked missile, or three mutually opposing prongs. A blob of sticky poster tack might also work, but it's harder to keep clean.
Speed limited: Any missile that's purely muscle powered, like finger-flick missiles, will be limited by how fast you can move your fingers. The missile is likely to be MUCH less massive than your finger, so how much speed it picks up depends only on how fast your finger moves, since you can assume the finger is "infinitely massive". Oh, and it helps to strike squarely with the flat of a fingernail. Anyway, since making the missile heavier won't affect the speed so long as it's a lot lighter than a finger, more mass means more momentum.
---Dave
