What is Ballistics?
Ballistics is the study of the motion and mechanics of a bullet, missile, bomb, etc. When ballistic weapons, such as firearms and explosives, are involved during an investigation, ballistics is very important to help determine the angle of attack, type of weapon used, etc.
When dealing with ballistics, forensic scientists will analyze launch, flight, and possible projectiles for ballistic weapons to determine the type of weapon used and its role in the crime.
When there is evidence such as a gun or a bullet, forensic scientists can examine the type of weapon used, find any fingerprints, and help develop a theory by examining and analyzing the weapons.
The 3 Types of Ballistics
There are 3 types of ballistics:
- internal
- external
- terminal
The forensic scientist will study all 3 parts when examining their evidence related to firearms and explosives.
Internal ballistics covers the time from the ignition of the firearm till it leaves the barrel.
The next part is external ballistics, which covers the time from when the bullet leaves the weapon till it reaches the target.
The final part is terminal ballistics, which deals with how the bullet impacts the target, and vice versa. Examining all three parts helps forensic scientists to better understand how the ballistic weapon was used in the crime.
Factors Involved with Ballistics
There are a few factors that a forensic scientist must address when dealing with ballistics. Though we will not be going to detail about how these factors impact the analysis, it is important you become familiar with them.
The first factor a forensic scientist must think about, when analyzing how a ballistic weapon impacts an investigation, is the weather and wind conditions. The setting of the scene is very crucial when examining the role of a ballistic weapon because wind, air density, air temperature, etc. can influence the theory of the angle of attack and projectile of the launch of a weapon.
Drift
Drift is another factor that must be considered when dealing with ballistics.
Different types of weapons may have very different responses to drift caused by wind, temperature, etc. So if a certain ballistic weapon is very likely to drift during the launch, the projectile of the launch may be altered.