Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sammyd]

Hey,

My mate and I were just having a beer, and the topic of gunshots came up.

Anyway, we want to know what happens when people fire shots in the air (eg mid-east style after a positive major political event).

Does the bullet come down? If it does, wouldn't that be dangerous if it hit someone? If so, how come we've never heard any reports of this?

If not, how does a metal bullet disentegrate?

Thanks, and yes, we have way too much time on our hands.

[canuckistan]

Hub says a bullet does come down (of course) and it can injure or even kill you, but it comes down at the gravitational constant--it has already reached terminal velocity and therefore has far less power.

All of this while he's sitting here doing Sudoku puzzles

[sammyd]

Please define terminal velocity!

Also, gravity accelerates at 10 metres/ second (I think) so if the bullet was way up in the air, it would come down at a pace! If you throw a coin off the top of a big builing it can kill someone, so what does the terminal velocity have to do with it??? (no offence, just ignorant). When has a bullet shot in the air actually killed someone??? Especially in a crowded place???

Cheers!

[Grotto]

There have been several instances of people being struck and even killed by bullets 'falling' out of the sky. For the bullet to be fatal you pretty much have to be struck directly on the head...similar to the coin killing someone and it would have to be a pretty direct hit.

Yes, a bullet shot up into the air will encounter air resistance on the way up, which resists its upward motion. It also encounters resistance on the way down, resisting its downward motion. Both of these effects result in a slower bullet speed when it returns. Nonetheless, many of these bullets are still traveling fast enough to kill. Each year, people die on New Year's Eve because stray bullets from celebrants' gunfire strike them.

The actual speed of the returning bullet depends on a lot of things. Also, the shape of the bullet affects the air resistance. Winds may blow the bullet off course but probably not change the speed noticeably. If the bullet is very dense (and many are made of lead), the air resistance will change its speed less than if it were less dense (as in a rubber bullet).

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950414b.html

[JongnoGuru]

When I was small, me and my band of merry would-be Robin Hoods would fire arrows (metal-tipped rabbit-killers) straight up into the air and then run for our lives! One time an arrow fell directly in front of me as I was running my legs off. I would have been pierced right through the noggin if I'd only been a step quicker. If only.

[BigBuds]

There was a case in Australia several years back of some woman walking along one of the beaches in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney that was struck in the head by a bullet that fell out of the sky. They said she was extremely lucky it didn't kill her. They did say that if it had been fired directly at her she would have been killed instantly as it had come from a high powered rifle.

The police thought it probably came from the rifle range several kms away but weren't able to find out for sure (over 3000 members to check out) . It was the only plausable reason short of some idiot shooting up in the air in his backyard and that would have got the neighbors calling the police complaining and none did.

I live near said rifle range and on occasion I've seen the odd idiot shooting into the air........f**king fools .

[pegpig]

[doublejeopardy]

[canuckistan]

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]