Posted on 01/29/2016 9:38:48 AM PST by w1n1
The following is a science experiment conducted by Vite NRK do not try this at home. - It's harder to create movement in water than in air, because water molecules are closer together than air molecules. To show the difference in resistance, physicist Andreas Wahl from Viten NRK puts himself in front of a weapon submerged in water and fires it - on himself.
Wahl's ballistic myth busting experiment and video evidence will have you second guessing all those underwater Hollywood action movie sequences. See it here.
Well, he’s a Darwin experimenter ...
What surprises me the most is that the breech didn’t explode: imagine the over pressure from a barrel full of water.
For those who can’t go to the video - the bullet only goes about a foot or two before becoming totally spent and dropping to the bottom.
While a round may not hurt you in the water (Myth Busters did something similar) an explosion will. It was a big deal that the depth charges be set to safe when a ship was going down. Supposedly, if you are in the water and there is a large explosion (I mean really large), the concussive wave passing through the water and eventually your body could blow your innards out your backside. You swim away from the vessel, not to avoid the vortex that might suck you down (This is thought to be a myth too) but to be away in the event of an explosion.
I wonder what the result would be if you shot down into the water from about 8 feet away. Would the bullet travel farther if it had a chance to develop some velocity in the air?
Mythbusters tested this extensively, only with bullets fired from above the water. If I recall correctly, most of the bullets broke up on impact with the water. None penetrated the water with killing speed for more than a few inches.
I once read that the frogmen os WWII said that if they wer more than 3 feet underwater, they were safe from gunfire from the beaches.
Bullets develop velocity in the barrel, and begin slowing down as soon as they leave it.
No supposedly about it. Water doesn’t compress. explode a big enough bomb underneath a boat, especially in shallow water like a harbor, you’ll break the boat’s back.
explode a big enough bomb underneath a boat,
= = =
Really doesn’t have to be a big charge, if placed in the optimum region.
*In flight gravity accelerates the bullet down at ~10m/s2
 |
Freedom ≠ Free Stuff☭ |  |
| I, for one, welcome our new Cybernetic Overlords /. | ||
|
|
||
IIRC, firing a FMJ 9mm from a Glock underwater can still penetrate plywood at about a dozen feet.
?
!
Under water, a 36 grain .223 bullet moving at 3,750 ft/s will shed velocity faster than a 115 grain 9mm at 1,300 ft/s.
Just making sure you said that right, that a 9 mm fired underwater will cause the projectile to go 12 feet then penetrate a piece of plywood, and not as a joke, or sarcasm.
The transition from air to water is too much a shock for the bullet to handle beneficially; some will shatter on impact.
Best performance comes from the barrel being completely filled with and submerged in water.
But that’s all ONLY for FMJ rounds.
Hollow points et al are a different story though, expanding immediately and losing energy fast (doing so in the barrel is...problematic).
Yep. Water is incompressible. The human body isn’t. Well, the part that isn’t water, that is.
I have personally performed the test, and they go a few feet then float to the bottom of the pool.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.