Lecture Notes

INTRODUCTION

Ballistics (gr. ba'llein, "throw") is the science that deals with the motion, behavior, and
effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science
or art of designing and hurling projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance. A
ballistic body is a body which is free to move, behave, and be modified in appearance,
contour, or texture by ambient conditions, substances, or forces, as by the pressure of
gases in a gun, by rifling in a barrel, by gravity, by temperature, or by air particles.

Firearm ballistics information is used in forensic science. Separately from ballistics

information, firearm and tool mark examinations involve analyzing firearm, ammunition,
and tool mark evidence in order to establish whether a certain firearm or tool was used
in the commission of a crime.

Ballistics is sometimes subdivided into:

1. Internal ballistics, the study of the processes originally accelerating the projectile,
for example the passage of a bullet through the barrel of a rifle;
2. Transition ballistics, the study of the projectile's behavior when it leaves the barrel
and the pressure behind the projectile is equalized.
3. External ballistics, the study of the passage of the projectile through space or the air;
and
4. Terminal ballistics, the study of the interaction of a projectile with its target, whether
that be flesh (for a hunting bullet), steel (for an anti-tank round), or even furnace slag
(for an industrial slag disruptor).

“Ballista” is a gigantic bow or catapult which was used to hurl large objects such as
stones at a particular distance to deter animals or enemy forces.

Today, the word Ballistics is frequently used synonymously in the press and in the
Police Parlance to Firearms Identification.
 LESSON 1. BALLISTICS

It is a science in itself because it evolved from systematic knowledge, research

and development, training, experience and education of those who pioneered in
this field.

Technically speaking, it refers to the "science of firearms identification which

involves the scientific examination of ballistics exhibits such as: fired bullets; fired
shells; firearms; and allied matters, used in crime.

Legally speaking, ballistics is the microscopic examination of fired cartridge

cases and bullets together with the recording and presentation by means of
photography of what is revealed by the microscope.

BALLISTICS THEORY

Ballistics is the scientific study of the propulsion and motion of projectiles such
as bullets, artillery shells, rockets and guided missiles. Also includes the study of the
destructive action of such projectiles.

The drag of a projectile moving head on is now usually divided into three parts:

1. bow resistance - due to air pressure at the head of the projectile;

2. skin friction - caused by the friction of air moving along the middle
portion of the body; and
3. base drag - due to the under-pressure and disturbance of the air behind
the base.

The following are pioneers in the study of force and projectiles:

1. GALILEO, NEWTON, and

LEIBNIZ established the principles of dynamics and the methods of calculus, studies
which helped the rapid development of external ballistics.
2. GALILEO and NEWTON were
both interested in the force called air resistance, now usually called aerodynamic
drag, which reduces the speed of a projectile.
3. In 1707, CASSINI, an astronomer
suggested measuring firearm’s muzzle velocity.

INTERIOR BALLISTICS
 It is the study of motion of projectiles within the gun barrel. The time
during which the projectile is influenced by Interior Ballistics is very short.
From the release of the firing pin to the moment the sound of the shot can be
heard as it leaves the muzzle occupies only about 0.01 seconds, in a modern
rifle.

Interior ballistics involves:

1. Ignition of the primer.

2. Flames is produced
3. Combustion of the gunpowder
4. Energy that is generated
5. Force/Pressure developed
6. Velocity of the bullet (from the chamber to the muzzle)
7. Rotation of the bullet
8. Engraving of the cylindrical surface of the bullet.

Interior ballistics deals with the temperature, volume, and pressure of the gases
resulting from combustion of the propellant charge in the gun; it also deals with the work
performed by the expansion of these gases on the gun, its carriage, and the projectile.
Some of the critical elements involved in the study of interior ballistics are the
relationship of the weight of charge to the weight of projectile; the length of bore; the
optimum size, shape, and density of the propellant grains for different guns; and the
related problems of maximum and minimum muzzle pressures.

Note the following:

The British engineer Benjamin Robins conducted many experiments in interior

ballistics. His findings justly entitle him to be called the father of modern gunnery.

Late in the 18th century the Anglo-American physicist Benjamin Thompson made
the first attempt to measure the pressure generated by gunpowder. The account of his
experiments was the most important contribution to interior ballistics that had been
made up to that time.

About 1760 French ballisticians determined the relationship of muzzle velocity to

length of barrel by measuring the velocity of a musket ball and cutting off a portion of
the barrel before taking the velocity of the next shot. By using the results of these
experiments and advances in chemistry and thermodynamics, ballisticians developed
formulas showing the relationship between muzzle velocity and weight and shape of
projectile; weight, type, and grain size of powder charge; pressure and temperature in
the barrel; and the size of the powder chamber and the length of the barrel.

Related Terms in Interior Ballistics

1. Action – term referring to the mechanism of a firearm.

2. Burning Rate - An arbitrary index of the quickness that burning propellant
changes into gas. Burning rate is controlled by the chemical composition, the size
and shape of the propellant grains, and the pressure at which the burning takes place.
IMR 5010 powder is very slow burning and Bulls eye is fast burning.
3. Bulk Density - The ratio of the weight of a given volume of powder vs. the
weight of the same volume of water.
4. Chamber Pressure – the pressure generated within the chamber erroneously
called breeched pressure.
5. Charge Weight to Bullet Weight ratio - This is the ratio of the weight of the
powder charge to the weight of the projectile.
6. Detonation – Chemical rearrangement of molecules into gas instead of solids to
cause the high explosives to exert full power of shock. The speed of detonation varies in
different explosive but in some it is as high as 7000 yards in a second.
7. Energy - is measured in foot-pounds, and one foot-pound means that amount of
energy, which would be capable of lifting a weight of one pound through a distance of
one foot Drop-Block Action- That type of action in which the breechblock rises and forces
vertically in cuts in the receiver side walls. Lever actuated as a rule.
8. Expansion Ratio - The ratio of the capacity of the powder chamber plus bore
(in grains of water) to the capacity of the powder chamber (in grains of water).
9. Foot – Pound - the amount of work required to raise one pound one foot high
against the force of gravity.
10. Foot second - velocity expressed in foot per second.
11. Gas - a fluid resulting from the combustion of gun powder with a relatively great
expansion and spontaneous tendency.
12. Hangfire - Occurs when a cartridge fails to explode on time or delayed in firing.
 13. Knocking Power - the power of the bullet which delivers a very heavy paralyzing
blow that put the victim down and may then recover if the wound inflicted upon is not
fatal.
14. Loading Density - The ratio of the weight of the powder charge to the
capacity of the powder chamber (case). It is usually expressed as the ratio of the
charge weight to the capacity the powder chamber in grains of water. (See below.)
Generally, the more fully the powder charge fills the case the more consistent and
accurate the load will be. On the other hand if the loading density is too low, (too
much free space in the case) it can cause erratic ignition, change in the pressure
curve (moving the peak towards the muzzle), or even overly rapid burning
("detonation") of the powder charge. (One reason manuals list minimum or starting
loads.)
15. Misfire – total failure of a cartridge to discharge. This is different from hang fire
which merely a delayed combustion, while misfire a complete failure eve to start
combustion.
16. Powder Chamber Capacity - As with most interior ballistics capacity
measurements it is usually expressed in grains of water. It is determined by
measuring the weight of water that a fired case from the test firearm can contain with
a bullet seated to its normal depth. Note that this varies with different bullets or
seating depth as well as the dimensions of the chamber, and the brand of case.
17. Pressure – Outward push of gases from powder combustion against cartridge
case, chamber and bore.
18. Sectional Density - The ratio of the bullet's weight (in pounds) to its
diameter.
19. PSI - Pounds per square inch. It is often seen designated as PSIA. This
designation is now used to signify a measurement of chamber pressure taken with a
piezo-electric device. Piezo-electric units operate in a similar fashion to the copper
crusher units but use a reusable crystal "crusher" that changes its electrical
properties in response to pressure. When connected to suitable recording
equipment the entire pressure pulse history can be recorded or displayed. The peak
pressure recorded by a piezo-electric peak device usually reads about 5,000 psi
higher than the figure determined by the copper crusher method.
20. Recoil – the equal and opposite reaction of the gun against the forward
movement of the bullet during the explosions.
21. Residual Pressure – the pressure remaining in the chamber after the bullet has
left the barrel.

EXTERIOR BALLISTICS

Exterior Ballistics deals with the motion of projectiles from the time they
leave the muzzle of the firearm to the time they hit the target. The flight of
most bullet or projectile does not exceed 30 seconds at maximum range,
which for almost any firearms is obtained at an elevation of about 33.

CONDITIONS - refers to the natural laws.

a. velocity - speed per unit of time ex. M16 - 3,300 ft/sec.
b. energy - fatal equivalent of a bullet.
c. yaw - the unstable rotating motion of a bullet.
d. gyroscopic action - refers to the stillness of its rotating motion and
attained its highest momentum or stability in flight and penetrating power.

In exterior ballistics, elements such as shape, caliber, weight, initial velocities,

rotation, air resistance, and gravity help determine the path of a projectile from the
time it leaves the gun until it reaches the target.

Until the middle of the 16th century it was believed that bullets move in straight lines
from the gun to the target and that shells fired from mortars describe a path made up of
two straight lines joined by an arc of a circle. The Italian mathematician Niccolò Tartaglia,
in a published work on gunnery, claimed that no part of the path of a projectile could be
a straight line and that the greater the velocity of the projectile the flatter its path.
Tartaglia invented the gunner's quadrant used to determine elevation of the muzzle of
a gun. He is and Italian scientist who a book in which he said that the trajectory of a
bullet was really a continuous curve. He directed some firing tests to determine this
angle, and discovered that it was near 45 degrees and he noted that the trajectory was
continuously curve.

Galileo proved that in a vacuum a projectile describes a parabolic arc. The

description of the law of gravitation by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton made plain
the cause of the curvilinear motion of projectiles. By the use of calculus he determined
the momentum transferred from the projectile to the particles of air at rest; this method
of calculating air drag has been superseded by the use of tables prepared from
experimental firings.

Two methods have been used to determine the velocity of a projectile after it leaves
the gun. One method measures the momentum of the projectile; the other measures
the time required for the projectile to travel a given distance. The first method is the
older, and in the past, when guns and projectiles were small, velocities low, and ranges
short, the results were sufficiently accurate for most practical purposes. The ballistic
pendulum and gun pendulum were used to measure projectile momentum, but these
devices have been supplanted by cheaper and more accurate machines working on the
principles of the second method.

The ballistic pendulum was developed about 1743 by Robins, who was the first to
undertake a systematic series of experiments to determine the velocity of projectiles.
The principle of the ballistic pendulum, as well as of the gun pendulum, which was
developed by Thompson, is the transfer of momentum from a projectile with a small
mass and a high velocity to a large mass with a resultant low velocity.

The ballistic pendulum consisted of a massive plate of iron to which was bolted a
block of wood to receive the impact of the projectile; the pendulum was suspended
freely from a horizontal axis. The block, when struck by the projectile, recoiled through
a certain arc that was easily measured. Knowing the arc of recoil and the masses of the
projectile and the pendulum, the velocity of the projectile could be determined by
calculation. The ballistic pendulum was able to withstand the impact of musket balls
only; however, by determining the relations that should exist between the caliber, length
of barrel, and charge of power, Robins substantially advanced the science of gunnery.

By the second method, the velocity of a projectile is determined by measuring the

time required for it to travel a known length of its path. Numerous machines have been
devised for this purpose; in 1840 the British physicist Sir Charles Wheatstone suggested
the use of electricity for measuring small intervals of time. This suggestion led to the
development of the chronograph, a device for recording, by electrical means, the time
required for a projectile to pass between two screens of fine wire.

The formulas and tables for the exterior ballistics of each new type of gun or cannon
are more or less empirical and must be tested by actual experiment before the aiming
devices can be accurately calibrated.

Further, exterior (external) ballistics refers to the attributes and movements of

the bullet after it has left the gun muzzle. It includes:

1. Muzzle blast - the noise created at the muzzle point of the gun due to the
sudden escape of the expanding gas coming in contact with the air in the surrounding
atmosphere at the muzzle point.
2. Muzzle energy - energy generated at the muzzle point.
 3. Trajectory - the actual curved path of the bullet during its flight from the
gun muzzle to the target. The following are the kinds of trajectory: straight
horizontal line - parabola-like flight - vertical drop
4. Range - the straight distance between the muzzle point and the target.
a. Accurate (effective) range - the distance within the shooter has control of
his shots, meaning he can place his shots at the desired spots.
b. Maximum range - the farthest distance that a projectile can be propelled
from a firearm.

* While the range at which the ordinary pistol and revolver are supposed to be
effective in only 50-70 yards, all of them can send their bullets much further than
that and are capable of inflicting fatal wounds at distances up to one mile,
depending on the caliber and gunpowder content.

5. Velocity - rate of speed of the bullet per unit of time.

Long barrel rifle – up to 3,000 yards accurate range and its hinge muzzle
velocity of 1000-4000 ft./sec.

* Bullets from rifled weapons spin at 2000-3000 revolutions per second, but
over the first few yards of trajectory – distance varies with the weapon – their flight
is slightly unstable; the end of the projectile wobbles before it picks up a smooth
flight path. This phenomenon is called “TAILWAG”, and is of considerable important
in evaluating gunshot wounds. A bullet with “tailwag” does not strike its target
clearly.

6. Air resistance - resistance encountered by the bullet while in flight.

7. Pull of gravity - downward reaction of the bullet while in flight.
8. Penetration - depth of entry on target.

Note on the following Contributors:

1. 1707 - Cassini. Suggested measuring of firearms muzzle velocity

2. 1857 – Monsieur Noiles. Published a thesis titled ‘Les Plaies Feu Courtes’. His
thesis dealt with the subject of wounds made by small firearms.
3. 1748 - Henry Shrapnel. He invented the shrapnel, which disperse its load of case
shot with a small bursting charge, increasing the effective range of case.
4. 1898 – Mr. Corin in Paris, France. Published an article titled “La Determination
de La Distance a’Laguelle un Coup de Feu a e’te’ Tire” (Determination of the distance at
which a shot has been discharged from a firearm).
 5. 1900 – Dr. Albert Llewellyn Hal in Buffalo, New York (USA). A very significant
article entitled “The Missile and the Weapon” was published in the June issue of the
Buffalo Medical Journal.
6. 1903 – Mr. E.J. Churchill in London, England (uncle of Robert Churchill of later
fame as a firearms examiner for the United Kingdom). He provided testimony as to some
experimentation that he had performed involving the distance of which a shot had been
fired into a human skull.
7. 1900 - Dr. Albert Llewellyn. He wrote an article entitled “The Missile and the
Weapon”, which dealt with a variety of issues to include how measurement of land and
groove markings are made on bullets. He also discussed the examination of gunpowder
residues in barrels of firearms and the changes that take place over time after the
weapon is fired.
8. 1921 - Mr. Jorge T. Filho. He published an article entitled “Estimation of Distance
from which a Bullet was Fired” (“Da Diagnose da Distance nos Tiros de Projecteis
Multiplos Chumbo de Caca”).
9. Emile Monnin Chamot. He authored a 61-paged monograph entitled “The
Microscopy of Small Arms Primers”.