If you fired a gun and the bullet circumference's the planet?

Question

how long would it take for the bullet to come back to the starting point

Answer 1

That would have to be a bloody big gun to fire a bullet with the circumference of the planet!

Answer 2

When you've got a gun big enough to do it, let me know!

Answer 3

Just for an example, a typical .30 caliber round travels at approx. 2500 ft per second at muzzle. If it could maintain that speed, and kept the same altitude, it would go about 1/2 mile in a second.

The Earth is just about 25,000 miles around at the equator. That makes 50,000 seconds. Approximately 14 hours, give or take.

(All numbers are gross approximations. Nit-picking math nuts can fine tune it.)

Just for fun, are you aiming east or west? Affects the time of day of the incoming round!

Answer 4

a very long time, you would have to get someone to find it first and then get on a plane and probably a connecting plane or even a few connecting planes and then bring it back to you. so id say a couple of weeks.

   Alternatively you could see if Richard Branson was taking one of his global balloon flights and maybe hed take it around for you.

   Then theres the postal service, they might do a deal with you.

       The options are endless. Let me know when your done.

Answer 5

I think you need to re-read your geometry glossary, my friend.

Answer 6

Not enough information.  While we know the average circumference of planet earth, we don't know how far above the earth you fired the bullet and how fast the bullet is traveling.  Different guns have different bullet velocities.

Also, is this in a vacuum, where gravity, friction and other factors are not being considered?

Answer 7

Depends what type of gun, and what size of bullet.  They all travel at a different rate of speed.

Answer 8

The word is not "circumference's" but "circumnavigates" or "travels the circumference of the earth".

Answer 9

Well you would need a very powerful gun,

Lets say a SA-80 had a range of 400m and the earth has a estimated circumference of 927,000m

Muzzle speed at 940 m/s, if you had a SA-80, 2317 times more powerful

It would reach the start point in 986 seconds,

If power was relitive to speed it would take 0.4 seconds

But thats a guess

Answer 10

try it

Answer 11

3.25 days

Answer 12

it depends on how high it is travelling, and the bullet's shape, and the angle of the shot.

Answer 13

you would have to fire in from space and it may not work there.  

Answer 14

doubtful it will even travel 1/4 of the earths circumference