Can a tornado catch a bullet?

The forward momentum of the bullet decreases enough on its own, I believe, so if the tornado is large enough, at some point the tornado’s kinetic energy will be more than the bullet’s decreasing kinetic energy. (I wonder what Mythbusters would do if they got their hands on a question like that….) :o)

no way it’d stop a bullet…I have no evidence to back up this claim…I just don’t think it’s possible….it may have some effect on the bullet’s final trajectory, but definitely not just catch it all together.

Id say YES if a tornado has the force to pick up a house (which Ive seen in person) then I think it could “catch a bullet”, especially if the diameter of the twister is large

A twenty mile an hour wind can affect a shot greatly at one hundred yards. So im thinking a tornado would definitly affect a shot. A handgun shot would also be more affected than a shot from a rifle.

It’s gonna change the direction of bullet a little. It’s not gonna catch it and swirl it around with rest of the debris.

These questions come up when you smoke too much weed.

I think it might also come down to whether there’s enough surface area on the bullet in relation to its mass for the winds to really pick it up. Hmmm…. Where’s a physicist when you need one? lol

@simone54 there is no such thing smoking too much weed, and you sound like its a bad thing… i think this is an excellent question (stoned or not), but yeah, its better to think about these kind of things when you’re high

simone is right, we were both smoking quite a bit of weed :P.

guys, desert eagle is a .50 caliber…larger than most rifle rounds. Also the distance from the tornado would be relevant too.

@RandomMrdan That is true, but you gotta figure, you cant be standing right next to the tornado when you fire this gun sooooo theres going to be a bit of distance between you and the tornado to start with. Thats why i say no, it wont just pass right through.

a 9mm pistol has a maximum range of 1600 meters…which means a desert eagle .50 caliber will have an even further distance. I just don’t see it happening…even if the shot was fired 400 meters away from the tornado. That bullet has such a small surface area, that the wind will affect where it ultimately ends up…but I don’t think will have enough force to stop it and suck up the bullet.

I just found this…I wish we could smoke together, uber. For reals. Haha. I love this question.

I just found this…I wish we could smoke together, uber. For reals. Haha. I love this question.

The muzzle velocity of a desert eagle is something in the neighborhood of 1500fps. I have serious doubt that the speeds of the wind, has enough stopping force for a small bullet.