The Science Of Why Firing Your Gun Up Into The Air Can Be Lethal
July 4th and New Years Eve are the most dangerous times for a hail of falling bullets from ‘celebratory gunfire.’
“What goes up, must come down,” is an old saying that remains true for any object thrown or fired from Earth’s surface that fails to escape into space. Even a bullet, fired straight up at the maximum speed a gunpowder blast can accelerate it to, will never leave the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. A combination of gravity and air resistance will slow it down until it reaches a maximum height, whereupon it will fall back down to Earth’s surface.
When it does, however, its landing location will be wildly unpredictable owing to the effects of wind and air. It will be traveling much slower than when it was first fired, as its terminal velocity (due to air resistance) is far lower than the initial muzzle speed. But even so, these falling bullets can injure or even kill people: something that’s most likely on July 4th and New Years in the United States. Here’s the science behind how “celebratory gunfire” can, and often does, kill people.
