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The article describes a property of ellipses which was observed by the physicist Jean-Marc Richard in connection with a problem from ballistics. The maximal perimeter of a parallelogram inscribed in a given ellipse can be realized by a parallelogram with one vertex at any prescribed point of the ellipse. The well-known geometric object to which the foregoing discussion relates is the orthoptic circle of Monge, who proved that the locus of points from which one sees an ellipse at right angles is a circle.

Focuses on the role of mathematician and United States Army officer Oswald Veblen in bringing mathematics into the First World War. How academic mathematicians reacted to army life; Overview of the mathematical ballistics of 1918; Details on the application of mathematical ballistics in the army.

Discusses ballistics and ballistic trajectory, the use of geometry on parabola and its application on the science of motion. Overview of the Galilean model; Details on the resisted shot; Information on enveloping parabolas; Details on the mechanics.