ABSTRACT
Internal ballistics concerns what happens within a time span in the region of 2 ms between the impact of the £ring pin or striker and the exit of the bullet or shot charge from the muzzle end of the barrel. “is short span of time has profound implications for the forensic scientist. I have also decided to include within this chapter the consequences of events immediately before and a¡er this prestated time span within the £rearm. As previously stated, all modern £rearms are, in reality, heat engines of Victorian design. “ey burn a fuel within them to produce a momentary emission of extremely hot, high-pressure gases. A portion of the energy so released is utilized to accelerate a single missile or a number of projectiles down the barrel to exit from the muzzle at high velocity. “e kinetic energy of the bullet or missiles so discharged is a function of their velocity and mass, and in turn, is a manifestation of a portion of the energy released by the powder charge.
