Eli5 If you shoot a bullet into the air how does it gain enough velocity on the way down to kill someone?
In: 5
Well without atmosphere, it will come back down at the exact same speed you shot it up. It decelerates upwards at the same speed it accelerates downwards.
With atmosphere that is still true up to terminal velocity. The terminal velocity of a bullet, aerodynamic and potentially made out of dense material (pretty much any solid metal would do, maybe not including aluminium?, But certainly lead) would definitely be high enough to do serious damage. Especially considering that most “tallest building in XYZ place” tout the fact that if you were to drop a small coin off the top it would kill someone at the bottom.
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