View Single Post Old December 17, 2009, 04:29 PM   #26 Senior
Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Posts: 958 BUT, they would both have absorbed roughly the same
amount of energy. They really wouldn't, because we have already
shown that the bullet will have more kinetic energy than the
rifle will...  We also know that from the work-energy
relationships that work done is equal to the change in energies.
Work is also equal to force over distance (or the time rate of
change of momentum). The target downrange will adsorb all the
energy over a shorter distance than the shooter, and because the
rate of momentum change is much higher, will see a higher force
number than the shooter...  Think of it this way... If you have
two objects of the same momentum, and one applies a force over a
short distance (the bullet) and one applies a force over a
longer distance (the rifle against your shoulder), the work done
must be equal in each case. To compensate, the force for the
shorter distance has t