http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ghlight=bullet

Thought the Delt- gun thing sounded familiar so i did a search

Oh, I remember this now -- it turned into a thread on whether a bullet fired in the air will really hurt you when it comes down.

I don't want to be the crash test dummy on that one.

I guess the shooting was actually not done by a Delt, and it wasn't in the house, but rather out in front after the Delts threw some folks out of a party.

Bad situation all the same.

And just in case you're wondering, no, it won't hurt you.

I take it, that You are talking about a projectile falling from the sky?

Do You want to try it?

What goes up must come down. Maybe not at the same velocity as leaving the barrel of a weapon, but I guarentee You it will do some damage!

a 14 year old 3 blocks away from my aunt in scottsdale, died from a bullet falling from a gun that was shot several blocks away. she was hit in the head, it went right throw her. think of the force of gravity, i think it just depends on how far up it goes or the angle of the shot for how far and fast it will fall. Physics

Actually, yes it will; ChinaBuffet got it essentially correct. The principle involved is conservation of energy, and is a standard part of any 1st-year physics course.

The short version is, in a closed system (i.e. in the absence of any "outside interference"), the total amount of energy remains the same. In other words, a bullet has the same energy coming back down as it did when it went up. The angle of the shot will have something to say about where it lands, but anyone standing there at the time would be most unfortunate.

When this debate first started, I did some google searching and read some opinions by military ballistics experts, PhD's, etc.

Bottom line is that nobody really agrees 100% on the answer.

If I'm standing around and someone fires into the air, I'm finding cover in a hurry.

Just to be safe.

Nope. It's not true. I'm not insensitive to the tragedy of the child who died from a bullet fired three blocks away.

This issue might have gotten a little confused by the terms. "A projectile falling from the sky" is vague. A round fired in a shallow arc across the distance of, say, a few blocks, might still possess some of the start velocity when it hits. When by-standers are hurt by random bullets during celebrations, it's usually because the rounds are fired upward, into buildings, or in shallow arcs.

But if you fire bullets straight up into the air, they should not damage you when they come straight down. Unless you're looking up and one hits you in the eye.

Think, for example, about all the bullets fired by airplanes during dogfights above ground troops. For the most part, the planes are high enough in the air so that the rounds lose their velocity and go into free-fall before they hit the ground. If we stood on top of a tall building and dropped a handful of standard military bullets, minus the casings, they aren't going to kill anyone. They might ding a car or two, but they aren't coming down point first, and they won't hit with enough velocity to do any great harm.