• @SpaceNoodle
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    4 months ago

    They’re traveling away from their origin at constant velocities, so they’re traveling relative to each other at constant velocities as well.

    The magnitude of the resulting vector (i.e., speed) can be calculated trivially since their movement is perpendicular on a plane, as the root of sum of squares, which many could recognize as the Pythagorean theorem:

    √((5 ft/s)² + (1 ft/s)²) = √26 ft/s ≈ 5.1 ft/s

    You can verify this by finding that their average speed apart is the same at all times (for all t > 0):

    Vavg = √((t * 5 ft/s)² + (t * 1 ft/s)²) / t = √(t² * ((5 ft/s)² + (1 ft/s)²)) / t = √26 ft/s

    • key
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      4 months ago

      Don’t forget to calculate the location where everything about them began and then include the curvature of Earth considering the latitude of said location into your speed calculation.

      • @SpaceNoodle
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        344 months ago

        No, they’re spherical children in a vacuum.

        • @answersplease77
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          134 months ago

          for approximation we can assume that the boy is a point mass and the girl is a lie

        • I Cast Fist
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          54 months ago

          Oh, so we have to calculate the gravitational attraction pulling them back. Fucking hell

        • @Hamartia
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          24 months ago

          Augustus! Save some room for later.

      • @SpaceNoodle
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        14 months ago

        You’ll note that I already assumed that they were on a plane, not the surface of a sphere.

        • @Randelung
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          -14 months ago

          I’m also noting the stick up your ass. 🙄

          If the potato remark and subreddit don’t tip you off that I was being flippant, I don’t know what will.

          • @SpaceNoodle
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            24 months ago

            No, the stick would be a one-dimensional line.