Is it possible to curve the bullet's course?

Question

like in the movie "wanted"?

Answer 1

shoot a charged bullet through a magnetic field, and it will curve

Answer 2

Actually - yes, but not anything like in that movie.

Bullets rotate. The rotation of the bullet in a fluid field will cause it to deviate from a straight path. This is called the Magnus Effect. Infact: If you've ever played tennis, or for that matter any racket ball type game, the magnus effect is what causes a spun ball to fall flat or change direction in flight. Fluid dynamics is pretty darn cool!

Answer 3

Remember Newton's first law:  an object travels in a straight line at constant velocity unless acted on by an external force.  So to curve the trajectory, you would need to apply a force somehow.  There's already gravity, which curves the trajectory slightly (but not a great deal).  You could have wind blowing on it, or an asymmetry in the shape of the bullet that creates excess drag on one side of the bullet that would curve it slightly.  But this still would not be a significant change in its course.  So for practical purposes, no, you can't curve the bullet's course.

Answer 4

No, even though a bullets trajectory is not flat, but curved.

Answer 5

A bullet will curve sideways if there is wind in that direction, but it would require a hellishly strong wind to curve it to the degree shown in the movie.

Answer 6

you could ricochet the bullet but not change the bullet's trajectory course in any other way.