#ballistics

In the trials that resulted in the US adopting .45ACP, where they just shot horses and cows and waited for them to die, they determined that there actually wasn't much of any difference between the cartridges, provided one could get a solid hit on vital organs. I believe the test included 9mm and 7.65mm Parabellum. They just chose .45ACP because they used a human cadaver as a ballistic pendulum -- a well-established method of ballistic testing that was generally done with pieces of wood on a rope -- and felt the limbs of the cadaver moved more when shot with .45ACP versus other calibers. So. .45 missed better. Thus became our cartridge.

Did Cole actually discharge his weapon? Former army sniper says, "no."

"Secret Service fired FIVE shots at Trump alleged assassin - and may have hit one of their own"

Ballistics Unconfirmed

Todd Blanche told reporters Monday that agents subdued alleged gunman Cole Tomas Allen, 31, only after he tripped and fell while breaching a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

'One Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked,' the acting Attorney General said. 

'This heroic officer who was hit, fired five times at Allen, who was not shot, but fell to the ground and was promptly arrested.'

When asked whether Allen fired the shot that hit the agent, Blanche said he couldn't confirm it and that the forensic analysis is still ongoing. 

'We want to get that right. So we're still looking at that,' he added. 

The officer did not suffer serious injuries because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Blanche confirmed. Despite missing every shot, Blanche praised the Secret Service: 'Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they are trained to do.'

Secret Service fired FIVE shots at Trump alleged assassin

GENERAL — 36/262 — Gunpowder

Black powder is the oldest known explosive, discovered around the 9th century in China. Initially, it was used in medicine and widely experimented with by alchemists. However, when it failed to yield the anticipated elixir of immortality, its powerful explosive properties began to be used for ammunition production. It likely arrived in Europe as early as the 13th century, although some experts believe that Europeans discovered black powder independently of China. The European inventor of gunpowder is typically attributed to either the German alchemist Berthold "The Black" Schwarz, or, according to other sources, the German friar Albertus Magnus, who was familiar with the recipe for gunpowder as early as 1275. Another mention can be found in the work of the alchemist Marcus Graecus, who included a black powder recipe in his writings around 1300. However, at this time, gunpowder was not yet commonly used in combat. Originally, a fine particle mixture known as “meal powder,” produced by grinding the individual components, was used for shooting. Later, methods were developed to produce larger grains, which significantly improved the consistency of ballistic properties and accuracy in shooting.

TRIVIA

— When Henry mixes saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal with water, he is quite the modern alchemist. The technique to produce gunpowder as a slurry, instead of a dry powder (so-called serpentine), only came up around 1400. This slurry, that would later be dried and broken into useable grains, had the advantage of being both cheaper and of a sturdy consistency. The dry serpentine, on the other hand, would only be ground individually and mixed together loosely, and would thus separate into its layers through vibration, such as during a longer transportation by carriage, requiring a new mixing before its usage, often producing clouds of potentially explosive dust. Other variants of medieval black powder could even ignite upon contact with water. The “wondrous fire” from the 1420 “Feuerwerkbuch” (firework book) was made from saltpetre, sulphur, charcoal, quicklime and camphor, and said to be inflammable by adding water. The book and this specific recipe sparked some major disputes in the scientific scene. Since it was attributed to the infamous German monk Berthold the Black, the recipe was spread, occasionally in a drastically embellished and altered form, to better support the claim of Berthold as the great European inventor of gunpowder in firearms, with some of these false manuscript transcripts still circulating. Today, most scientists agree that Berthold the Black was nothing but a nice myth made up by a 15th century alchemist textbook.

So, don't you want Diane here and not me?

No.