Here’s an interesting little quote on how to start a war:

“Of course the people don’t want war. … But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it is a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. … All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger. It works the same way in any country.”

That quote comes from Hermann Göring. I suppose he had some experience at it. I always cringe a bit when I hear how perfectly reasonable discussion of reducing the supply and availability of nuclear weapons and material gets supplanted by comments (usually phrased in an asinine fashion) of how it will weaken our country.

sigh...

One of the most ubiquitous subjects of study in in any physics I class is “Projectile Motion.” It’s interesting that we call it projectile motion without very often really thinking of where it comes from.

Generally (and correctly) we use this to describe the motion of an object thrown in the air or dropped from some height. Dropping rocks from a tower, throwing a baseball, or tossing a small amount of lead at something far away. And it’s really that last one that was a “driving force” for the study of projectile motion and where the name ultimately comes from. Namely it’s useful for warfare: lobbing rocks, shooting bullets, and all the aspects of artillery. Physics gives you the tools needed to do this with devastating effect.

For class recently I pulled up a couple of the more common artillery quotes* :

"Artillery adds dignity, to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl"
- Frederick the Great

and

“God fights on the side with the best artillery.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Pithy quotes aside, this is frequently the point at which students begin having some trouble in class. It requires connecting velocity components in two different dimensions and to relate them to time, distance traveled, and height achieved. I tried to remind my students that while they may find physics difficult and find the exams especially challenging, at least they are not being forced to do physics calculations while being shot at on a battlefield.

(*both should be taken as attributed as I have no original source)