Ballistics, bombs and burns
BALLISTICS
B Paix
Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, SA
Whilst gunshot injuries remain relatively uncommon in Australia, there is increasing awareness that international or domestic incidents such as the Bali bombings and the Port Arthur shootings may expose civilian practitioners to warlike injuries. Bullets themselves are relatively innocuous things, with even a high powered military rifle bullet weighing a tiny 2.5g.
- How then do such small particles cause such massive wounds?
- What is a ‘ high powered‘ rifle?
- How do weapons designers maximize the hitting power of their weapons?
- How does a pistol wound compare to a rifle wound?
- What sort of damage does a typical .22 calibre rifle bullet produce?
- What can you expect in a criminal brought to hospital after a policeman shoots him with a .357 magnum revolver?
This presentation explains, in a simple manner, how all projectiles are simply a means to transfer kinetic energy from the one point in space to another. The key to a weapon’s wounding power is the energy of its projectile. A low powered weapon, like a .22 calibre rifle, imparts only around 100 Joules of energy to its bullet. This is less than the energy a fast bowler imparts to a cricket ball. Wound severity is therefore limited. The police pistol, such as the .357 revolver, is a medium powered weapon, with around 750 J at the muzzle, and a high powered military rifle may have over 3000 J. These numbers explain the different wound characteristics of low powered vs high powered weapons, and may help a treating doctor predict the sorts of injuries likely in a patient shot with a .22 calibre rifle, vs a heavy calibre pistol or even an assault rifle.
Time of Presentation
Saturday 13 May 2006 - 1330-1500
