A shell of mass is at rest initially. It explodes into three fragments having mass in the ratio . If the fragments having equal mass fly off along mutually perpendicular directions with speed , the speed of the third (lighter) fragment is
Momentum of the system remains conserved. Initial momentum = 0. Final momentum should also be zero. Let masses be . Momentum along x-direction = . Momentum along y-direction = . Net momentum of these two = . To balance this, the third fragment of mass must have momentum in the opposite direction. Thus, its speed is .
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