[Phys-l] Final velocity of bullets - Revisited

[Brian Whatcott <betwys1@sbcglobal.net>]

At 12:43 PM 1/23/2007,  Oren, you wrote:
> ////
> Is the bullet still spinning when it reaches its maximum height?
>
> Or, put another way, does a bullet reach terminal velocity before or
> after the air friction stops the bullet from spinning and then produces
> the tumbling?
>
> Oren Quist, South Dakota State


The data I now have indicate that a bullet retains the majority
of its spin momentum at the peak of the trajectory.
It's also found that a back-first flight of a bullet is stable,
 so that bullets may sometimes descend (blunt) tail first.
This leads to a higher terminal velocity compared to the tumbling
bullet's TV. (X2)
This appears to be the major methodical weakness of the
 Myth Busters' effort. They did not test a spun bullet in several
of their setups.



Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!