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Native people throughout North and South America used a bola to hunt for birds and animals. A bola can consist of three stones, each with mass m, at the ends of three light cords, each with length ℓ. The other ends of the cords are tied together to form a Y. The hunter holds one stone and swings the other two above his head (Figure P11.41a, page 308). Both these stones move together in a horizontal circle of radius 2ℓ with speed v0. At a moment when the horizontal component of their velocity is directed toward the quarry, the hunter releases the stone in his hand. As the bola flies through the air, the cords quickly take a stable arrangement with constant 120-degree angles between them (Fig. P11.41b). In the vertical direction, the bola is in free fall. Gravitational forces exerted by the Earth make the junction of the cords move with the downward acceleration
Figure P11.41
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Chapter 11 Solutions
Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics