[Encyclios]

Ballistics branches

Ballistics is so important to the study of the motion of projectiles fired from firearms that the latter became the main stimulus that led to the development of this science. Ballistics has since been differentiated into various branches of study that retain the prefix “ballistics” as related to firearms and its projectiles, although sometimes the use of this prefix is improper from the etymological point of view and is not always related to purely physical studies.

Ballistics is now divided into five main branches:

1. Internal ballistics: studies the behavior of the bullet while it is still inside the muzzle, subjected to the forces generated by the ignition of the launch charge.
2. Intermediate ballistics: studies the motion of the projectile in the immediate vicinity of the muzzle. It consists in the study of intermediate phenomena between internal and external ballistics.
3. External ballistics: studies the motion of the projectile after it has been fired or launched. This is the actual ballistics, according to its definition.
4. Terminal ballistics: studies the reaction of a body that comes into contact with the bullet.
5. Forensic ballistics: is the discipline that includes the expert activities pertaining to firearms related to criminal investigations involving actions performed with firearms themselves.