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Forensic ballistics - is the science of analyzing firearms usage in crimes. It involves analysis of bullets and bullets
impact to determine information of use to a court or other part of legal system. Separately from the ballistics
information, firearm and tool mark examinations also involves analyzing firearm, ammunition and tool mark
evidence in order to established whether a certain firearm or tool was used in the commission of crime.
Ballistics -(ballein "to throw") - is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior and effects of
projectiles especially bullet, gravity bombs, rockets or the like.
Ballistic missile - is a missile, only guided during the relative brief initial powered phase of flight whose course is
subsequently governed by the laws of classical mechanics.
Flight - is the process by which an object moves through an atmosphere by generating aerodynamic lift, propulsive
thrust, aerostatically using buoyancy or by ballistic movement without any direct solid mechanical support from
the ground.
Firearms identification - the identification of fired bullets, cartridge cases or other ammunition components as
having been fired from a specific firearm.
Rifling - is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm which imparts a spin to a
projectile around its long axis. This spin stabilize the projectile, improving its stability and accuracy.
Trajectory - is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time.
Firearm - is a weapon that launches one or many projectiles at high velocity through confined burning of a
propellant.
Ballistic fingerprinting - involves 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.
Gun ballistic - is the work of projectile from the time of shooting to the time of impact with the target.
1. Internal/interior ballistic - the study of the processes originally accelerating the projectile. example - the
passage of a bullet through the barrel of a rifle.
2. Transition/intermediate ballistic - the study of the projectiles behavior when it leaves the barrel and the
pressure behind the projectile is equalized.
3. External/exterior ballistic - the study of the passage of the projectile through a medium, most commonly the
earths atmosphere.
4. Terminal ballistic - is the study of the interaction of a projectile with its target.
Accuracy is Increased
1. by longer bore or length of metal tube
2. putting spiral grooves in the bore (riffling)
Breech loading firearm - is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral
to the rear portion of a barrel.
Sir Hiram Maxim - an American inventor of the machine gun or the maxim gun.
Richard Gatling - inventor of the Gatling gun, a machine gun with a six barrel capable of firing 200 rounds per
minute at the earliest stages of development.
Gatling Gun - a hand driven, crank operated multi barrel machine gun.
note: velocities of bullets are increased with the use of a jacket of a metal such as copper or copper alloys that
covers a lead core and allow the bullet to glide down the barrel more easily than exposed lead. Such bullets are less
likely to fragment on impact and are more likely to traverse through a target while imparting less energy.
Firearms Terminology
1. Action - the part of the firearm that loads, fires,
and ejects a cartridge.Includes lever action,pump
action, bolt action,and semi-automatic.The first
three are found in weapons that fire a single shot.
Firearms that can shoot multiple rounds "repeaters"
include all these types of actions but only the semi-
automatic does not require manual operation
between rounds.A truly automatic action is found
on a machine gun.
2. Barrel - the metal tube through which the bullet
is fired.
3. Black Powder - the old form of gun powder
invented over a thousand years ago and consisting
of nitrate,charcoal,and sulfur.
4. Bore - the inside of the barrel.
5. Breech - the end of the barrel attach to the action
6. Bullets - is a projectile propelled by firearm,sling,
airgun.They are shaped or composed differently for
a variety of purposes.
Parts of a cartridge
a. bullet
b. case/shell
c. powder
d. primer
Composition of Gunpowder
1. Sulfur
2. Charcoal
3. Saltpeter (potassium nitrate)
- gun powder first appeared in china but used
primarily in firecrackers.
percussion
matchlock wheellock
flintlock
- next, inventors combined the individual components
including the bullet, powder charge and primer all in
a single cartridge which could be introduced directly
into the chamber.