Milford chronicle., 1916-02-11
BULLETS IN FLIGHT
Even the Best Aimed Ones Never
Follow Their Noses.
STRIKE A WEE BIT SIDEWAYS.

The Projeetile Travels on a Curve, ot
Course, and II Keeps Its Axis Always
In the Direction the Axis Had When
the Ball Left the Gun.
1t is u wen known fact that bullet
never goes straight to a mark, but flies
IN a curve on the order Of the paTabola.
But most people think that the bullet
| itself follows its nose and that at first
twhen the nose is pointed upj the bull
let follows it and that when the buaet
Is coming down on the other leg Of the
curve the nose Is pointed down.
This is a mistake, for the nose Of a
bullet always maintains it's Own direc-
tion. no matter what the bullet as a
whole tries to do. That is, If gun be
pointed slightly up. the bullet when It
strikes the target, win not enter ii per
pendicUlarly by the nose, and the hole
made viii he larger than the bullet is
round. for the bullet Of necessity must
hit in n certain degree fiatwise. OF
course the reason the bullet does this
Is because it has a very rapid rotation
given it by the rifles in the barrel.
which keeps it also from turning over
and over in the air.
Another thing that viii seem peculiar
to most people is the action Of gravity
on a bullet II a gun be fred exactly
horizontally the bullet viii have to he
pulled down by gravity exactly sixteen
feet during the first second. So IL there
were no sights on a gun and 1t was
leveled by means Of a hand level and
fred the bullet would hit something
exactly sixteen feet below the gun at
distance away equal to the velocity Of
the bullet per second.
No matter what the bullets velocity.
gravity viii pull it down sixteen feet
during the first second, or If the bullet
be fired upward gravity win take from
its upward velocity thirty-twe feet dur
ing the first second.
The bullet Itself keeps its axis al
ways In the direction the axis had
when the bullet issued from the gun.
This is the well known gyroseopic pFin-
ciple made use Of in the gyroscopic
compass and the memorial car-that q
rotating body win maintain its axis Of
rotation in the same direction unless q |
moment of force be applied to IT.
But what actually happens with the
modern high powered rife? Does 1t
shoot bullet that goes IN sideways2
To a slight extent it may be stated |
that the modern army bullet dOes do |
that very thing. It's velocity, however.
is so enormous that the gun barrel does
not have to be elevated through so /
large an angle. and consequently the
bullet enters fairly ON it's nose, though !
not squarely so. at all ordinary ranges.
The same may be said Of the bigger
guns. They have rifing in them and
SO give rotation and gyrsseopic action
to the prOjectiles. But a mortar does
not. A mortar shoots something al
most straight up IN the air and lets It
fail down. As the mortar is too short
to be rified the top Of the pro
jectile would hit a target a long dis
lance away. but fer a shot almost
straight up in the air to fan right down
)f course the bottom Of the projectile
would strike first. The mortar prOjec-
lies are generally round. so that It win
lot matter how they strike.
The reason a bullet cannot be made
10 that It win always enter a target
ON its nose is that for every
ange a differently shaped bullet would
AVE to be manufactured; also the bull
ct should be symmetrical, SO that the
lir viii exert no disturbing influence
N its distorted parts.
A bullet has distinct curve like that
# a baseball. due to its rotation, and
his curve is independent Of the parab-
la given by gravity. The smoother
md more polished a bullet IS the less
S this curve. But the action Of the s
fling I'm a gun barrel puts little !
rooves in the bullet as It goes through ]
he barrel. These catch the air as the
iullet rotates and causes the curve
polen Of.
If the bullet he rotated I'm the direc (
ion of the hands Of clock the curve &
rill make the bullet 90 to the left of {
be exact point aimed at. The effect IS a
o small, however, that it does not o
ave to be taken into account in the a
OF rifles and ammunition e