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.22 Bullet in Flight

A .22 caliber bullet is fired from a rifle. Here the bullet is seen in a polarizing interferometer. The different colors of light represent different air pressures. The clear bow wave in front of the bullets shows that the bullet is moving faster than the speed of sound. The exact velocity of this supersonic bullet can be calculated from measurements of the bow wake angle. This image freezes the motion by using a high speed flash with a duration of 1/2,000,000th of a second.

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Filename
K20-polint-bullet_0028.jpg
Copyright
Ted Kinsman / Science Source Inc.
Image Size
3840x4538 / 15.7MB
A .22 caliber bullet is fired from a rifle. Here the bullet is seen in a polarizing interferometer. The different colors of light represent different air pressures. The clear bow wave in front of the bullets shows that the bullet is moving faster than the speed of sound. The exact velocity of this supersonic bullet can be calculated from measurements of the bow wake angle. This image freezes the motion by using a high speed flash with a duration of 1/2,000,000th of a second.
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