Tag Archives: Terminal Ballistics

Part 4 of A Ballistics Guide for Geeks, Writers and Geeky Writers: Terminal Ballistics

Posted on by
5

A Fired .38 caibre Hollow Point round, completely expanded and deformed after striking its target. From Wikipedia, by user Rickochet

Welcome back! So far we’ve talked about the flight of projectiles, and how things change as our projectiles and the atmosphere around them change.  Now lets talk about what happens to our projectiles when they actually impact with something!

These projectiles that we’ve thrown have now flown from their projector to the other end of their ballistic trajectory.  Eventually, they’ll hit something other than the medium they are flying in.  Wether it’s the intended target, something that happens to be in the way, or one of those weird bubblegum asteroids those Sci-Fi writers keep dreaming up, something will happen. Continue reading →

An Introduction to Ballistics for Geeks, Writers, and Geeky Writers: Part 1 of Many

Posted on by
5
To the point

Photo by BWJones (Bryan Jones) on flickr

So what is ballistics, and why should I care, right? What could this possibly have to do with me, you ask?  It is an interesting science, and one that I have devoted many hours to studying. My goal in writing this down is simple: To keep learning as I write, and to share what I’ve learned with you all. I’m not trying to turn you all into ballisticians or long-range shooters, merely to give you nuggets of knowledge to tuck away in the back of your brain. I’m also not claiming to be the be all and end all expert on all matters related to physics, guns and ballistics.  I’m merely your guide on this journey, through a topic I happen to study passionately.  I’ve spent years studying and working in this field, and have learned a lot, with decades of learning still ahead of me.  As a teacher of mine once said after a long, hard course, “Congratulations, you now know enough to be dangerous.”

Plus, you never know when in your next story/book/audio drama one character might pick up a gun, and one of these little nuggets of knowledge will shove their way to the front of your brain and help complete a scene in a believable way. Or at the very least, maybe your next game of trivial pursuit will ask you some physics question and you win! Let’s dive into it then, and see where we end up.

Continue reading →