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Could a bullet fired into the air kill you?

Question

When the rebels in Libya fire guns directly into the air, what happens to the bullet? Could them kill someone on the ground?
Elana, Romford

Answer

** Definitive **
Name: James O’Brien
Qualification: Nothing I don’t know about physics
Answer: It won’t come down as quickly as it went up. If it is fired vertically, the bullet will stop at the very top, then accelerate as it falls, before reaching terminal velocity. So it won’t be falling any quicker than an apple dropped from the same height. I believe a bullet from a gun is fired at 700mph, but coming down it will be going a maximum 200mph. I suspect it would hurt, but it certainly wouldn’t kill you.

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