AFTE Store - Bullet Impact, Kinetic Energy, Momentum and the Physics of What Will Move You

Movies and television have instilled a deep belief in the minds of the ballistically naïve public that the impact of a bullet striking a gunshot victim will result in the victim being driven or even hurled in the direction of the bullet’s flight path. This is not possible and easily disproved using basic Newtonian physics, but testimony accompanied by the supporting mathematical calculations are not likely to change the layperson’s mind and adherence to this false notion. These same people may serve on a jury in cases where the movements of a gunshot victim are the subject of debate and contention. This paper reviews the matters of kinetic energy, momentum, the conservation of momentum after which some simple means will be provided to demonstrate momentum transfer by bullets impacting and lodging in selected targets.