Re: Oops....
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: michael sr.</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just wondering:
If you need the weight issue [scope on the rifle] and dropped it from a low elevation would dropping it from a higher elevation w/o the rifle accomplished the same result...
I can't balance my check book .... so you know where I am.... </div></div>
Too many variables. If you are only worried about the impulse and associated shock impact to the scope, you could do some mv calculations and figure out what speed you get an equivalent momentum transfer in a similar (note, probably not the same) amount of time. At best, even with some detailed calculations, your answer still won't be representative of a real drop with a real rifle attached. You don't have the same moments of intertia, stiffness of the various parts and their reaction stresses, as well as the impact profile (what parts hit where and when). You could finite element model the whole setup and do it on a computer and get a better answer than a scope only drop test...but then you'd need real world results to verify that you modeled it correctly. Ultimately, prototypic testing (dropping the actual setup) for a complex configuration like this is the only way to really know. Someone's gotta do it if you want the final answer. Of course...one data point is far from conclusive. I think you need to drop your rifle at least 19 more times and then we can calculate a reasonably accurate 95/95 tolerance interval for the number of kittens killed every time that thing hits pavement.