External ballistic of volcanic explosions

In order to determine the kinetic energy of an explosion it is necessary to know the initial velocities of ejected fragments. Calculations of initial velocities made earlier with few exceptions did not take into account the resistance of the air and therefore, greatly underestimated the initial velocities, and consequently the energy of the explosions. A solution of the inverse problem of ballistics which takes into account air resistance makes it possible to find precise values of initial velocities of ejection, determined from the distance of ejected fragments and their ballistic coefficients. The method makes it possible to determine the kinetic energy of explosions for eruptions which w…