For what purpose do rifled barrels put a spin on a traveling bullet?

Question

Does it give it some sort of added benefit like traveling further vs no spin? Why does that happen physics wise?

In: 6

Answer 1

Spinning things are “[stabilized](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope)”, they’ll maintain their axis of rotation. You can see this with a [spinning top](https://a.c-dn.net/b/1XEUcn/spinning-top-candlestick_body_GettyImages-153605568.jpg.full.jpg) which balances itself on a very narrow point and keeps its balance for as long as it spins.

So the effect on bullets is that the bullet will not tumble end-over-end, it will basically travel in the same “orientation” all the way to the target. This lets the bullet “pierce” the air with its tip rather than its tail or side wall, so it travels much more accurately to the target.