Quote Originally Posted by SyntaX****** View Post
2. Force equals mass multiplied by acceleration.
F = ma

I remember that one.

*. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
One of my favourite scientific quotes.

We must pretend that this silicon is not acted upon by any other forces during its projectory angle (except the moons gravity).
There's a ton of other forces acting upon it though. The Moon causes tides here on Earth, so Earth would definitely have a measurable effect on an object on the Moon.

Then there's the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_wind"]solar wind[/URL].

You calculate the moons gravitational pull into the trajectory angle and BAM! Target hit. I believe earths gravitational pull is *.8 m/s , *2 ft/s , 22 mi/h -
Earth's gravitational pull is actually closer to *.8*m/s, but nobody really uses that.

However, you've made a mistake in your calculation. That is the speed an object would travel at on Earth's surface. Earth's gravitational pull decreases as you move further away from the surface. Even at a higher altitude on Earth there is a measurably lower level of gravity.

The actual speed an object travels at depends on gravity and many other factors.

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity[/url]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_gravity[/url]

Ever heard of Joe Kittinger? He jumped from **,**0m, freefall. The level of gravity would be much lower up there, but the air density was so low that he was able to reach speeds of 6*4mph.

[url]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8*/Kittinger-jump.jpg[/url]

I think I've seen videos on Youtube.