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. The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ... A projectile is any object sent through the air by the application of some force. ... This article is about the projectile, for other uses see bullet (disambiguation). ... B-61 gravity bomb; this nuclear munition has been identified as one that could be modified to hit hardened underground targets. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ...

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. This article is about firearms and similar devices. ... Rifling is the means by which a firearm gyroscopically stabilizes a projectile. ... This article covers the physics of gravitation. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ...

Firearm ballistics information is used in forensic science. Separately from ballistics information, firearm and tool mark examininations involve analyzing firearm, ammunition, and tool mark evidence in order to establish whether a certain firearm or tool was used in the commition of a crime. Forensics or forensic science is the application of science to questions which are of interest to the legal system. ...

Ballistics is sometimes subdivided into:

• Internal ballistics, the study of the processes originally accelerating the projectile, for example the passage of a bullet through the barrel of a rifle;
• Transition ballistics, the study of the projectile's behavior when it leaves the barrel and the pressure behind the projectile is equalized.
• External ballistics, the study of the passage of the projectile through space or the air; and
• 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).

A ballistic missile is a missile designed to operate primarily in accordance with the laws of ballistics. This article needs to be wikified. ... This article is about the projectile, for other uses see bullet (disambiguation). ... A rifle is any long gun which has a rifled barrel. ... Transitional ballistics, also known as intermediate ballistics, is the study of a projectiles behavior from the time it leaves the muzzle until the pressure behind the projectile is equalized, so it lies between internal ballistics and external ballistics. ... External ballistics is the part of ballistics that refers to the behavior of a bullet after it exits the barrel and before it hits the target. ... Terminal ballistics, a sub-field of ballistics, is the study of the behavior of a kinetic energy projectile - when it impacts with its target. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ... Polish missile wz. ...

See also

• Category:Ballistics
• trajectory
• physics of firearms for an elementary introduction
• gun, cartridge and bullet

In ordinary language, a trajectory is the path followed by a body moving through space, for instance, the path taken by a falling body or the orbit of a planet. ... For the viewpoint of physics, a firearm, as are most weapons, is a system for delivering maximum destructive energy to the target with minimum delivery of energy and momentum back to the shooter. ... This article is about firearms and similar devices. ... Rimmed, centerfire . ... This article is about the projectile, for other uses see bullet (disambiguation). ...

External links

• http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/reports/1922/naca-tm-111/
• http://www.mindspring.com/~ulfhere/ballistics/mechanics.html