Homework help > Briefly describe how a pistol or rifle cartridge c... > Published by: CPA Guru 4 years ago
By: CPA Guru
Subject: Law
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Briefly describe how a pistol or rifle cartridge can be looked at as a simple explosive device. Discuss what occurs when an explosive device detonates and why it causes so much damage. Discuss and explain how physics and chemistry relate to ballistics/firearms examination. ...[Show More]

4 years ago


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A pistol or a rifle cartridge is made up of the bullet and explosive substance that explodes when struck to propel the bullet out of the gun. The speed and intensity of the impact is a factor of the amount of explosive powder in the cartridge and the bullet design (Heard, 2011). Damage done to the target is also a factor of the explosive design of the bullet and the gun. A bomb is made up of explosive substance encased in a container. The trigger mechanism set varies but the underlying concept is that it initiates the explosion which causes damage in several ways. The first is the blast wave which is basically charged air. The blast waves are followed by shockwaves which are kinetic energy transmitted through the struck objects (Heard, 2011). When a bomb explodes objects around it are thrown at high speed and these objects also cause damage to the objects they hit. Bombs are often known to start fires with high heat burning objects that are near. Finally, as the explosion ends the vacuum created at the center of impact rapidly fills with air creating a scenario called the blast wind which violently pulls objects towards the center of the explosion. The firing mechanism of a gun borrows from both physics and chemistry. The energy source is the cartridge explosion which is as a result of the highly explosive gunpowder. However, the Trigger mechanism is a physics concept on pulleys and levers. The trigger when pulled pushes a firing pin strikes the primer which ignites the powder and causes the explosion. For this reason, when investigating a crime scene, both concepts come in handy. Examinations for marks on bullets fired from the weapons are used to isolate the murder weapon (Heard, 2011). This is supported with trajectory analysis to predict the distance and angle of shooting to give a clear perspective on the amount of damage by the various guns. The murder weapon is expected to be consistent with all the tests.

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