During a miliary function,bullets are usually fired in the air.But when the bullet comes back to the ground,why does'nt it hit somebody?And if it does,why does'nt somebody get hurt due to its impact?
2007-12-19 18:58:21 · 8 answers · asked by asheeb r 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Where I live, they fire blanks for such ceremonies. If they use live rounds anywhere, it might be dangerous. The bullets would come down much slower than muzzle velocity (terminal velocity) but they could still do some damage.
The Mythbusters tested this season or two ago, firing the bullets straight up.
2007-12-19 23:22:58 · answer #1 · answered by dontpanic66 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bullets fired into the air can come down and hit someone, often killing them. This is a real problem in some areas where firing guns into the air is done for celebrations like New Years Eve. Not long ago, a person was killed near where I live by such a bullet.
In planned military ceremonies which gun salutes are used, they are planned so no-one is in the area where the bullets might fall.
2007-12-19 19:06:49 · answer #2 · answered by gp4rts 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
KE = the kinetic energy of a bullet leaving a muzzle.
PE = the potential energy of a bullet that has reached its maximum height above the muzzle.
As the bullet shot straight up rises, its KE is converted to PE, and to the work WE done against drag, which is like friction from the air. So we have KE = PE + WE or PE = KE - WE, that muzzle kinetic energy is reduced by the drag work, which will also exist when the bullet starts down.
So the PE at maximum height is converted back into kinetic energy ke and some more work as the bullet falls to the ground. Therefore PE = ke + we; where we < WE is from the same kind of drag force as when the bullet ascended.
Therefore we can write PE = KE - WE = ke + we; so that KE = ke + WE + we and ke = KE - WE - we . Which means that ke < KE...the kinetic energy of the bullet when it returns is less than the kinetic energy it had when leaving the muzzle.
So even if a bullet does land on someone's head, it's kinetic energy and the damage it might do will be less than if the victim took that same bullet out of the muzzle.
2007-12-19 20:06:43 · answer #3 · answered by oldprof 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because of the angle of the shot. During military functions when a gun or rifle is fired into the air it is never fired straight up, but at a strictly controlled angle so the bullet or round always lands in a safe area such as a field.
2007-12-19 19:04:18 · answer #4 · answered by The Mighty Martin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Luck! Shooting a gun into the air is absolutely stupid. Georgia tolerates this behavior on New Years Eve. This past 12/31, a bullet came down and through the hood of my (rental, which I didn't buy their insurance) car.......only a few feet from where my kids and I were lighting sparklers.
2007-12-19 19:11:30 · answer #5 · answered by madams441 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
During a military function such as a parade or burial the weapons are fired using blank rounds as are the cannons of course. If a weapon is fired with real rounds it has a very real chance of hitting someone however small.
2007-12-19 19:13:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i asked my husband this the other day and he said that the thing that injures people with bullets is the force its shot out of the gun, when the bullet comes down its not going nearly as fast as it was when it left the gun. he said it would be like any other metal object thing falling. think the penny from the empire state building example.
2007-12-19 19:08:01 · answer #7 · answered by K Rose 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They aim so as to not hit anyone observing. What goes up must come down and they know that. This would be why discharging a firearm within the city-limits of your town is prohibited.....
2007-12-19 19:04:25 · answer #8 · answered by Chaz 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋