[MUD-Dev] Source data on Crossbow

[Travis Casey]

On Monday 04 February 2002 11:25, Bobby Martin wrote:
> From: Travis Casey <efindel at earthlink.net>

>> That doesn't make sense, though.  If a corpse has more
>> resistance, than a greater portion of the bullet's energy will go
>> into moving the corpse (rather than into tearing up flesh, bone,
>> etc.).  Thus, if a corpse has more resistance, we'd expect a
>> corpse to be moved *more* than a living body, not less.  Further,
>> due to fluid loss, etc., a corpse generally weighs less than it
>> did while alive -- thus, it also has less mass to move, which
>> again would make it move farther in response to being shot than
>> it would have while alive.

> In fact, since momentum (mass * velocity) is conserved as well as
> energy, it doesn't matter at all how much resistance the target
> has.  If the bullet hits the target and no chunks go flying off,
> then all of the momentum of the bullet is transfered into the
> target.

Well... not quite.  If the bullet goes through, not all of its
momentum is transferred, regardless of whether chunks go flying off.
As you show below, if the bullet lodges in the target, then most of
the bullet's momentum transfers to the target (some stays with the
bullet, since it's still moving, just with the target).  Lastly, if
the bullet ricochets off the target, then an amount of momentum
*greater* than that possessed by the bullet originally is
transferred to the target (since the bullet's momentum in its
original direction of travel is now negative).

> So the velocity of the target changes by a set amount

> delta v of target = velocity of bullet * mass of bullet / (mass of
> target + mass of bullet)

That's correct, if the bullet lodges in the target.

> No matter how much energy is dissipated as internal damage, noise,
> heat, etc.

> Conservation of energy is not very important in determining how
> much the target will move; conservation of momentum, on what part
> of the target the collision takes place, and biological factors
> (muscles going limp, etc.) are much more important.

One thing to note -- while bullets move very fast, they don't weigh
much.  The momentum of a typical handgun-fired bullet is less than
that of a typical major-league-pitched baseball.

--
       |\      _,,,---,,_     Travis S. Casey  <efindel at earthlink.net>
 ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_   No one agrees with me.  Not even me.
      |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-' 
     '---''(_/--'  `-'\_) 
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