Bullet
A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constructions (depending on the intended applications), including specialized functions such as hunting, target shooting, training, and combat. Bullets are often tapered, making them more aerodynamic. Bullet size is expressed by weight and diameter (referred to as "caliber") in both imperial and metric measurement systems.[1] Bullets do not normally contain explosives[2] but strike or damage the intended target by transferring kinetic energy upon impact and penetration.
This article is about the firearm projectile. For other uses, see Bullet (disambiguation).Description[edit]
The term bullet is from Early French, originating as the diminutive of the word boulle (boullet), which means "small ball".[3] Bullets are available singly (as in muzzle-loading and cap and ball firearms)[4] but are more often packaged with propellant as a cartridge ("round" of ammunition) consisting of the bullet (i.e., the projectile),[5] the case (which holds everything together), the propellant (which provides the majority of the energy to launch the projectile), and the primer (which ignites the propellant). Cartridges, in turn, may be held in a magazine or a belt (for rapid-fire automatic firearms). Although the word bullet is often used in colloquial language to refer to a cartridge round, a bullet is not a cartridge but rather a component of one.[6] This use of the term bullet (when intending to describe a cartridge) often leads to confusion when a cartridge and all its components are specifically being referenced.
The sound of gunfire (i.e. the "muzzle report") is often accompanied with a loud bullwhip-like crack as the supersonic bullet pierces through the air, creating a sonic boom. Bullet speeds at various stages of flight depend on intrinsic factors such as sectional density, aerodynamic profile and ballistic coefficient, as well as extrinsic factors such as barometric pressure, humidity, air temperature and wind speed.[7][8] Subsonic cartridges fire bullets slower than the speed of sound, so there are no sonic booms. This means that a subsonic cartridge, such as .45 ACP, can be substantially quieter than a supersonic cartridge, such as the .223 Remington, even without the use of a suppressor.[9]
Bullets shot by firearms can be used for target practice or to injure or kill animals or people. Death can be by blood loss or damage to vital organs, or even asphyxiation if blood enters the lungs. Bullets are not the only projectiles shot from firearm-like equipment: BBs are shot from BB guns, airsoft pellets are shot by airsoft guns, paintballs are shot by paintball markers, and small rocks can be hurtled from slingshots. There are also flare guns, potato guns (and spud guns), tasers, bean bag rounds, grenade launchers, flash bangs, tear gas, RPGs, and missile launchers.
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Speed[edit]
Bullets used in many cartridges are fired at muzzle velocities faster than the speed of sound[10][11]—about 343 metres per second (1,130 ft/s) in dry air at 20 °C (68 °F)—and thus can travel substantial distances to their targets before any nearby observers hear the sound of the shots.
Rifle bullets, such as that of a Remington 223 firing lightweight varmint projectiles from a 24 inch barrel, leave the muzzle at speeds of up to 4,390 kilometres per hour (2,730 mph). A bullet from a 9 mm Luger handgun, reaches speeds of only 2,200 kilometres per hour (1,370 mph). Similarly, an AK-47, has a muzzle velocity of about 2,580 kilometres per hour (1,600 mph).[12]
Propulsion of the ball can happen via several methods:
Bullets for black powder, or muzzle-loading firearms, were classically molded from pure lead. This worked well for low-speed bullets, fired at velocities of less than 450 m/s (1,475 ft/s). For slightly higher-speed bullets fired in modern firearms, a harder alloy of lead and tin or typesetter's lead (used to mold linotype) works very well. For even higher-speed bullet use, jacketed lead bullets are used. The common element in all of these, lead, is widely used because it is very dense, thereby providing a high amount of mass—and thus, kinetic energy—for a given volume. Lead is also cheap, easy to obtain, easy to work, and melts at a low temperature, which results in comparatively easy fabrication of bullets.
Treaties and prohibitions[edit]
Poisonous bullets were a subject to an international agreement as early as the Strasbourg Agreement (1675). The Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868 prohibited the use of explosive projectiles weighing less than 400 grams.[36] The Hague Conventions prohibits certain kinds of ammunition for use in war. These include poisoned[37][38] and expanding[39][40] bullets. Protocol III of the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, an annexed protocol to the Geneva Conventions, prohibits the use of incendiary ammunitions against civilians.[41]
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