The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1917-02-03
BULLETS IN FLIGHT
Even the Best Aimed Ones Never
Follow Their Noses.
STRIKE A WEE BIT SIDEWAYS.

C0uroo, and II keope tts AXIS Always
In the Direction the Axis Had When
the Ball Left the Gun.
1t Ia a well known fact that bullet
never goes straight to mark. but aies
in curve on the order Of the parabola.
But most people think that the bullet
itself follows its nose and that at Hrst
when the nose IL pointed up) the bull.
let follows 1t and that when the buhSe
Is coming down on the other leg Of tlR'
curve the nose u pointed down. "a
This 10 a mistake. for the nose Of q
bullet always maintains its own direc-
ton, no matter what the bullet ~ q
whole tries to do. That u, II gun be
pointed slightly up. the bullet, when 1t
strikes the target. will not enter 1t per-
pendicularly by the nose. and the hole
made will be larger than the bullet b
round. for the bullet Of necessity must
hit in q certain degree natwise. OF
course the reason the bullet does this
is because It has q very rapid rotation
given it by the rides in the barrel,
which keeps 1t also from turning over
and over In the air.
Another thing that will seem peculiar
to most people is the action Of gravity
on a bullet If gun be fired exactly
horizontally the bullet will have to be
pulled down by gravity exactly sixteen
feet during the first second. 80 II there
were no sights on a gun and 1t was
leveled by means of 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 will pull It down sixteen feet
during the first second. or II the bullet
be fired upward gravity will take from
its upward velocity thirty-two feet dur
ing the first second.
The bullet itself keeps its axis a.
ways In the direction the axis had
This Is the well known gyroscopic prin-
ciple made use Of In the gyroscopic
compass and the monorail car-that .
rotating body will maintain its axis of
rotation I'm the same direction unless
moment Of force be applied to It.
But what actually happens with the
modern high powered rifie? Does It
shoot q bullet that goes In sideways7
To a slight extent It may be stated
that the modern army bullet does Do
that very thing. Its velocity, however.
is 80 enormous that the gun barrel does
not have to be elevated through 20
large nm angle, and consequently tho
bullet enters fairly on its nose. though
not squarely SO. at all ordinary ranges.
The same may be said Of the bigger
guns. They have rifiing In them and
SO give rotation and gyroscopic action
to the projectiles. But q mortar does
not. mortar shoots something al
most straight up in the air and lets It
fall down. As the mortar il too short
barreled to be rifled the top Of the pro-
jectile would hit n target a long dis
lance away, but for a shot almost
straight up in the air to fall right down
of course the bottom of the projectile
would strike first. The mortar projec.
tiles are generally round. so that 1t win
not matter how they strike.
The reason bullet cannot be made
80 that It will always enter a target
squarely on its nose is that for every
range differently shaped bullet would
have to be manufactured; also the hull
let should be symmetrical. so that the
air will exert no disturbing influence
on Its distorted parts.
A bullet has distinct curve like that
Of baseball due to its rotation, and
this curve is Independent of the parab-
ola given by gravity. The smoother
and more polished bullet Ia the less
is this curve. But the action Of the
riding in gun barrel puts little
grooves in the bullet as It goes through
the barrel. These catch the air as the
bullet rotates and causes the curve
spoken Of.
II the bullet be rotated in the direc-
ton Of the hands of clock the curve
will make the bullet go to the left of
the exact point aimed at. The effect is
so small. however, that it does not
have to be taken into account in the
manufacture Of rifles and ammunition.
New York American.