What happens to a bullet once it is fired straight into the air?

Question

Does it come down eventually? Is it possible that if he stands there long enough the one that fired it could get killed, or does it move with the curving of the Earth etc. I've only done GCSE physics so simple answers needed please!

Answer 1

when the bullet is fired straight up in the air (ie along the direction radial to the surface of the earth) it will fall back on the earth due to gravity.
Now to get the position on which it falls on the earth consider a case when we throw a ball up(ie perpendicular to the velocity of the train) in a running train it has the horizontal velocity of the train and falls back to the same position on train provided the train travels with the same uniform velocity.
similarly in this case the ball falls back to the same position.
Now if the velocity of firing is high enough, it is possible that the man may be hit by the bullet.

Answer 2

>IF< thr gun was pointed EXACLTY stright up, and there was no wind to affect the bullet, then the bullet would rise into the air until the energy from the gun powder was spent. Gravity would take over and the bullet would TUMBLE until it reached Terminal Velocity. If it hit someone they WOULD be hurt, but probably not killed. . . . . . .BUT . . . . . . it is NOT possible to shoot a bullet EXACLTY straight up, and there IS wind when you are outside. Therefore, the above explanation DOES NOT APPLY when some idiot is shooting his gun into the air during a party! In THAT case, the bullet is NOT fired STRAIGHT up, but instead take a PARABOLIC TRAJECTORY. In this case the bullet does not waste the energy from the gun powder. The bullet becomes an aerodymainc missile, and it actually hits the gournd AT ALMOST THE SAME SPEED IT LEFT THE MUZZLE OF THE GUN --several hundred feet per second. In this case, if the bullet hits someone THEY COULD BE KILLED, and certainly wounded The fact is, several thousand people are killed each year, all over the world, by guns fired "harmlessly" into the air by raucous, drunken party-goers. This happens much less in places like the United States, because local and state laws make it illegal to do this. While SOME people still do it, the number of them in the United States is very small. On the other hand, in less civilized countries where gun fire is thought to be a necessary part of celebration, the number of people killed and wounded from "friendly fire" is MUCH higher.

Answer 3

The bullet will come down and can kill -- sometimes.

Depending upon the gun and bullet it will leave the gun at about 1,000 feet per second and return to earth at the bullet's terminal velocity of about 300 feet per second. The bullet would come down bottom end first (not the point).

A .30 caliber bullet will perforate skin at 125 feet per second. A .38 caliber bullet (larger diameter) needs about 190 feet per second.

If the bullet is shot exactly straight up and comes exactly straight down that means it will go up with a gyro spin, then stop, then free fall without the spin, so it will tumble and give you a lower than 300 feet per second drop. If the gun is shot on an angle it would have a better chance of keeping the spin and would land with a lot more energy.

If you were luck and shot it exactly straight up you *may* be able to catch it on the way down -- but this could qualify you for the Darwin Awards (removal from the gene pool). Hence, MythBusters has rated this experiment as (1) Busted *and* (2) Plausible *and* (3) Confirmed. They found one person injured by a falling bullet and one killed -- that's 50% odds. Don't increase the sample size.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS.

So, yes, a bullet shot in the air *can* kill but not always.

Answer 4

A bullet is just like any other object that you can throw. What happens to a ball when you throw it: it flies through the air in a curved path and eventually comes back down to the ground--a bullet is no different, it just moves faster.

Answer 5

a slow moving bullet,travels at about 700 feet per second.friction with the atmospher slows the bullet to a stop,when it eventually falls to earth again.most likely,the bullet will not strike you,as there are turbulences in the sky,not seen by the human eye.the point of exit and the point of impact is most likely not the same.you stand a chance of being hit in this way of about a 6 million to one.the velocity the bullet picks up when decending,with only the earth gravity,which is about 10 meters per second,has no propellant,it will hurt you,but not kill you.

Answer 6

if it the bullet is shot straight up, then eventually the bullet WILL come down, but not with enough force to kill anyone (give a concussion, maybe) but if isn't shot in a perfectly straight line up, the bullet will curve and keep whatever force was carrying it up in the first place. This bullet DOES have a capability to kill.

Answer 7

The bullet definitely comes down and returns to the Earth at the same velocity. There are many, many stories of people being injured and killed in this fashion---especially in the Middle East. People erroneously think that somehow the bullets just fly off harmlessly if the guns are aimed in the air.

Just think of how artillery works....

Answer 8

It goes up, slows down, comes back

Yes, many people have been killed by stray bullets into the air.

Simple as it gets :)

Answer 9

Take this theory in mind, "What goes up must come down", in the bullet's case it will come down faster and can injure a person, fatally at times.

Answer 10

when a bullet is shot up in the air, it comes back down with the same amount of force it had when it was shot. it can kill you if you are hit since it has the same amount of force. your best bet is to stop playing with guns.