If you shot a bullet straight up into the air, would it come back down and hit you, or a bystander?

Question

Or would it float around in space? What would happen??

Answer 1

It comes back down. It may hit you or it may hit a bystander or it may just hit the ground. You are most likely never to see the bullet again and it could hit someone on the ground at terminal velocity (fast enough to kill someone). Don't shoot bullets in the air.

Answer 2

in theory, with no factors afecting the trayectory (wind) the bullet will come back down to the same point.

Answer 3

Two things could happen depending on how you shoot the bullet:

Straight up into the air - the bullet goes up until it runs out of velocity and then it tumbles down toward the ground. It rolls and it does not spin in a spiral, like it does when it initially is fired. Just imagine dropping a bullet from a tall building, the bullet will not endanger anyone.

At an angle of 70 degrees or less toward the terminal axis (the ground) it will maintain its spiral and it will very likely be deadly.

Bullets are deadly when they're shot parrellel to the ground, not perpendicular. It is safe to shoot directly above you in to the air.

Answer 4

The bullet will come back because to escape out of Earth, it should require a speed >= 11Km/s.

If you have prepared such type of gun, then surely it will rescue itself out from Earth's gravitationalf field.

But till yet, I don't know about any such type of gun.

Answer 5

It would come straight back and hit you..

Answer 6

ooo they actually did this on mythbusters. they found out that it would not go exactly straight up and the force on the way down would not kill anyone but it may hurt if it hit someone.

Answer 7

While it is possible. Its not likely.

You would have to have it held exactly vertical with a level.

And then if there was no wind it could come straight back down.

I tried holding a small shotgun and doing this once.

The small buckshot fell close to where I was.

I know it wasn't to smart a thing to do.

I was a lot younger when I did that.

Answer 8

The bullet will continue upward until it reaches zero velocity, changes direction and starts moving downward under the power of gravity. At which time, the bullet will reach terminal velocity and, with such small mass, be unable to lethally harm anyone.

Answer 9

Escape velocity (the speed required to escape Earth's gravitational pull) is 11.2 km/s. A high velocity rifle bullet travels at around 3 km/s. So no, a bullet cannot get up to space. Even if you fired straight up a bullet would not likely come directly down at you due to currents in the atmosphere, but it WILL come down, so there is always the potential it will hit you or a bystander.

Answer 10

No bullet fired from a conventional gun could make it to space.  Escape velocity at the Earth's surface is about 11 kilometers per second, and that's assuming there's no drag from the air.

What would happen is the bullet would go perhaps 2000 feet up (or maybe a bit more for a powerful gun), reach a peak, and tumble back down.  A tumbling bullet generally has a non-lethal terminal velocity as it falls.

However, if you fire the bullet at 45-degree angle, it will maintain a ballistic trajectory, and will remain pointed forward.  It is more likely for a bullet falling in this way to retain a lethal velocity.

Answer 11

If it went directly straight up yes. But the chances of it going directly straight up is hard to accomplish.