Technology

The flight of a bullet through the air is determined by various factors. Trajectory is the path followed by a bullet when released from a barrel. The bullet forms projectile due to gravity and air resistance which brings bullet to a fall. There area several parameters which affect the motion of a bullet through the air. These include drag gravity, air resistance, humidity, wind and temperature. These factors affect the motion of a bullet through the air either by increasing speed or slowing it. These are considered as external factors which are covered in ballistics. The flight of bullets at some horizontal height is considered as exterior ballistic. In this case the bullet has no propulsion (Hawks, n.d). This can be traced when the bullet is leaving the muzzle.

The measure of trajectory is very crucial since it denotes the distance covered by a bullet and the path followed. This enables to align in order to hit the intended target. The trajectory is given is given in reference to line of sight. Trajectory can be determined by tracing the line of sight in relation bullets position. It can be traced by following the flight path. The line of sight determines the nature of the trajectory. A positive trajectory is obtained when the line of sight is below the position of the bullet. On the other hand, a negative trajectory is obtained when the bullet is positioned beneath the line of sight. Trajectory is very crucial since it enables determining the target. Target shooter or hunter uses the principle of trajectory to determine the striking end of the bullet. The bullet can strike on certain point which is not the aim point. The aim point and the impact point vary bringing about errors. This error may be higher than expected. The error depends on the distance of coverage of the bullet. The error for short shots is not the same as the error for long shorts.

Air resistance is a phenomenon which has to be considered in the flight of a bullet. The resistance posed by air affects the speed of a bullet. Air resistance can be overcome by considering the ballistic coefficient. The ballistic coefficient makes a bullet overcome the air resistance. The forward motion of a bullet is affected less by air resistance in the case of a higher ballistic coefficient. The ballistic coefficient determines the forward motion rendered on a bullet.

The personnel involved in military ordinance did much in revealing the projectile of bullets. This was achieved by using a standard bullet. The weight and the shape of the bullet were taken in to perspective. The personnel observed the flight of ballistics. The weight of the bullet was one pound while its diameter was 25.4cm. The shape of the bullet was semi-pointed. This offered less resistance as it moved through the air (John, 2004).

The ballistic coefficient of the standard projectile was estimated to be 1.0. The standard projectile is used to determine the ballistic coefficient in other bullets. This is given in relation to the velocity of the standard projectile. The standard projectile had a ballistic coefficient of one. The application of bullets determines its ballistic coefficient, for instance the ballistic coefficient is less than one for both target and hunting bullets. This is because they have less weight and are shorter compared to the standard bullet which produced the standard projectile whose ballistic coefficient is one. The standard projectile is in a position to make a hole through air. This can not be achieved in the case of target and hunting bullets. It is not all the target bullets whose ballistic coefficient is less than one (Nelson, n.d). There are some target bullets whose ballistic coefficient is more than one. These bullets are heavy and thus have more penetrating power through the air.

Fig Projectile motion
A bullet takes some time when realized from the muzzle to a target point. The time taken in rising is equivalent taken when falling. It takes half of the time in rising and the rest is used in falling.  The sight in distance determines the point where the bullet strikes. The bullet is released from the muzzle to a target. A bullet will strike below the aim point in the case where the target is positioned after the sight in distance. On the other hand, the bullet strikes above aim point in the case where the target is positioned nearer compared to the sight-in-distance (Hawks, n.d). This phenomenon is used by target shooters in determining the positioning of the bullet to arrive at the aim point.

The resistance caused by air is not the same. This is because some variables such as temperature, altitude, humidity and pressure. These variables determine the air density which determines the air resistance. Air resistance reduces with increase in attitude. This is because the air at greater heights has less density compared to air at lower heights. The same applies to increase in temperature. Increase in temperature makes the air molecules to expand and thus be sparsely distributed. This offers less air resistance to bullets. Increased humidity leads to reduction in the air resistance. In the case when the humidity is high, the air remains calm thus offering less air resistance. Conversely, when the humidity is reduced the air resistance increases. This is because there are many interacting variables in the air. The trajectory in this case flatters thus offering less resistance. Pressure can be defined as the force acting per unit area. Pressure increases when force is acting on a small area. Since pressure is force per unit area, increase in pressure increases the air resistance (John, 2004). The resistance offered by air is high since bullet encounters some frictional forces created by the compressed air.

The trajectory motion is also influenced by gravity. Gravity is the force which pulls things towards the center of the earth. Gravitational force is calculated by considering the mass of the object. In the case where two masses are involved, the gravity depends on the product of the masses. The flight of bullet through the air is influenced by the gravity. As the bullet projects from the muzzle, it encounters gravitational pull. This is why the bullet falls at the long run. Gravity acts on bullet even when they are not in flight. The physical support offered by the barrel is no longer available when the bullet is released from the barrel. Due to the lack of physical support, the bullet is forced to fall. The flight of bullet is also affected by air resistance since the bullets move through the air (Hawks, n.d). The flight is slowed down due to the influence of air. In order to control immediate drop, the barrel is given some alignment. This slanting compensates the sudden drop that might occur. The bullet rises at some height after leaving the barrel. The axis of the barrel is the limiting factor for the bullet.

The velocity at which the bullet is released at the barrel determines the distance covered before hitting the ground. The energy acquired by the bullet is directly proportional to the horizontal velocity. The projectiles produced by bullets at low velocity are not the same as the projectiles produced by bullets at high velocity. High velocity bullets form lower arc in reaching the target as opposed to low velocity bullets which has to produce high arc in order to reach the target. The magnitude of the arc depends on the velocity of the bullets. Bullets at high velocities cover higher distances before they are caused to fall by certain factors such as air resistance and gravity. The line of sight is used as the reference point from which the barrel is given a certain tilt. The barrel is given some tilt in order to reach the point of aim (Nelson, n.d). A trajectory is also produced in the case where the barrel is tilted directly upwards or downwards.

In conclusion, the trajectory of bullet is the same as that of objects thrown may it be balls or stones. The flight in the air is affected by several factors such as air resistance and gravity. Gravity is the force that makes objects to be pulled towards the earths center. The air resistance is reduced with increased humidity and temperature. An increase in pressure increases the air resistance acting on the bullet. The energy of impact is determined by the velocity at which the bullet leaves the barrel. The bullet is forced to fall due to gravity and air resistance.