According to Wikipedia (yeah I know but it’s not the only place that said this is the meaning) Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behaviour, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.
When I think ballistics I always thought it was studying the bullets fired from a gun to see if the rifling matched with a known sample, either one in a database or one found at the scene of a crime. I found out there is more than one ballistics category. There is internal ballistics (which is within the gun), external ballistics (which is from the gun to the target), terminal ballistics (when the projectile hits the target). I found an amazing explanation of the various types complete with diagrams here. It’s part of a firearms tutorial from The Internet Pathology Laboratory for Medical Education.
In Canada the RCMP has an Integrated Ballistics Identification Network (CIBIN). The network allows police to have their ballistics evidence compared against any evidence from across the country. Plus it can also be compared against the U.S. National Integrated Ballistics Information Network.
For more information check out:
Crazy busy at work but I intend to do some blog hopping tomorrow to check out some of the great posts participants are putting up.
Until tomorrow…
Cindy
April 2, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Great post. I love all the cop shop talk. One of these days I’m going to put it into a book. LOL
Great links too. *adds*
Taryn Elliott recently posted..#AtoZChallenge : Art and Beauty
April 2, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Lots of very useful info for a crime writer!
Look forward to your challenge posts…
–Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Damyanti recently posted..A for Any Other time: atozchallenge
April 2, 2012 at 10:15 pm
Nice links and an interesting topic, I look forward to more of your posts!
Emily Ann Selden recently posted..All, Always, and Almost
April 2, 2012 at 11:25 pm
I was watching a program on the TV about guns last night. It’s all actually very interesting stuff!
This is me, Duncan D. Horne, visiting you from the A-Z challenge, wishing you all the best throughout April and beyond.
Duncan In Kuantan
April 3, 2012 at 12:56 pm
I thought the same as you, Cindy. Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer Fischetto recently posted..C is for Crime Facts
April 3, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Stopping by for the Z-to-Z. Thanks for sharing the links!
Nicole recently posted..C – Changes, Jim Butcher
April 3, 2012 at 2:36 pm
Great idea for the challenge. Thanks for the links.
Laura Barnes recently posted..C is for Contest
April 3, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Great post. You always here the word ballistics but didn’t always know what it entailed
dreamweaver
April 3, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Thanks for the info–I like to write crime novels but know very little about crime elements like ballistics!
Jennifer Lane recently posted..C is for Coincidence
April 4, 2012 at 7:31 am
Thanks for the info. I’m an explosives analyst on the side and I didn’t even know this
Kristy Lahoda recently posted..Q&A with the Forensic Laboratory Chief of the Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal (SFM)