I shot an arrow in the air ...

[wildburp]

and it turned around and buried itself neatly in the ground before me. This will be the bottom line information for projectiles propelled towards heaven, and will be the last word about results.

Terminal velocity does not apply to objects that are not projectiles. A human falliing can expect wind resistance equal to the cross section of a fat body. One the other hand, streamlined projectiles launched towards the heavens can be expected to loose acceleration as they rise away from gravity, then begin to accelerate at the same rate as they falll back on your head. The bottom line is all the junk from the universe that falls on earth comes in at our escape velocity, unless helped by useless gunslingers whom know not which way is up. About 17,000 some odd miles per hour.

So to anyone whom insists that mere bullets go up and tumble back down harmlessly, I suggest you study ballistics, gravity, and then try to resolve the real question: where is all the lost matter and why am I still overweight?

wb

 

[Geronimo45]

Terminal velocity (that what they call it?) is about 120 MPH - if you decide to hop out of a plane at high altitude, you'll accelerate to a high speed then slow down to about 120 as air gets thicker/air friction increases.
A spitzer bullet has the weight... well, it's not at the front, generally. Middle or rear. When you hit the top of your parabola, the heavy end goes down first. An arrow will go tip-first. A bullet may go base-first (and a flat cylindrical base ain't too aerodynamic). Air resistance as it falls should make it less dangerous than it otherwise would be - my prediction is that the velocity of the bullet when it hits the ground will be considerably less than muzzle velocity.

where is all the lost matter and why am I still overweight?
1. Matter is not lost - it simply changes form, packs its bags, and goes to Disneyworld.
2. You are spending money on food that should be spent on bullets.

 

[JohnKSa]

Terminal velocity does not apply to objects that are not projectiles. ... streamlined projectiles launched towards the heavens can be expected to loose acceleration as they rise away from gravity, then begin to accelerate at the same rate as they falll back on your head.

Wrong.

Not just a little wrong, REALLY wrong.

Terminal velocity applies to any object falling in the atmosphere as long as it is not a POWERED object (i.e. does not contain its own engine) and as long as it didn't ENTER the atmosphere with a significant amount of velocity.

Terminal velocity (that what they call it?) is about 120 MPH - if you decide to hop out of a plane at high altitude, you'll accelerate to a high speed then slow down to about 120 as air gets thicker/air friction increases.

Terminal velocity of a HUMAN is about 120mph although skydiver can reach speeds of up to 200mph by getting into a more streamlined position (head-down dive).

Other objects have different terminal velocities depending on their weight, cross sectional area and coefficient of drag.

 

[Justin]

This is already under discussion on another thread.