Ballistics

[3] After millennia of empirical development, the discipline of ballistics was initially studied and developed by Italian mathematician Niccolò Tartaglia in 1531,[4][5] although he continued to use segments of straight-line motion, conventions established by the Greek philosopher Aristotle and Albert of Saxony, but with the innovation that he connected the straight lines by a circular arc.

[7] Ballistics was put on a solid scientific and mathematical basis by Isaac Newton, with the publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687.

This gave mathematical laws of motion and gravity which for the first time made it possible to successfully predict trajectories.

Although any object in motion through space (for example a thrown baseball) is a projectile, the term most commonly refers to a weapon.

[citation needed] Examples of projectiles include balls, arrows, bullets, artillery shells, wingless rockets, etc.

The word "catapult" comes from the Latin catapulta, which in turn comes from the Greek καταπέλτης (katapeltēs), itself from κατά (kata), "against” [15] and πάλλω (pallō), "to toss, to hurl".

[20] The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas, or energy and may be free, as with bullets and artillery shells, or captive as with Taser probes and whaling harpoons.

Alternatively, acceleration via electromagnetic field generation may be employed in which case the tube may be dispensed with and a guide rail substituted.

A weapons engineer or armourer who applies the scientific principles of ballistics to design cartridges are often called a ballistician.

[22] Significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the Space Age, including setting foot on the Moon.

Rockets are now used for fireworks, weaponry, ejection seats, launch vehicles for artificial satellites, human spaceflight, and space exploration.

Chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous.

[24] The study of internal ballistics is important to designers and users of firearms of all types, from small-bore rifles and pistols, to high-tech artillery.

Astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft.