Terminal ballistics

Terminal ballistics studies how a projectile behaves on impact and how it damages or penetrates a target.

Impact mechanics: The study of forces, deformation, and energy exchange during collisions. Provides the collision framework for describing projectile–target interactions.
Projectile: An object launched or propelled toward a target, especially in firearms and ordnance. Its mass, shape, material, and velocity govern how it interacts with the target.
Ballistic vest: A wearable protective garment designed to reduce injury from bullets and fragments. Its layers are engineered to deform, catch, or disperse projectiles.
Interior ballistics: The study of projectile motion and forces inside a firearm or launch tube. It covers launch conditions before the projectile reaches its target.
NIJ ballistic resistance standards: United States standards that classify body armor by its resistance to specified ballistic threats. They turn measured projectile impacts into reproducible armor performance criteria.
Penetration mechanics: The mechanics of a projectile entering and moving through a material. Models how impact resistance and projectile properties determine penetration depth.
Impact velocity: The velocity of an object at the moment it collides with another object. Small changes in impact velocity can alter deformation and penetration.
Ballistic gelatin: A gelatin material calibrated to approximate some mechanical properties of soft tissue in projectile tests. It provides a repeatable medium for comparing projectile behavior in soft-tissue simulants.
External ballistics: The study of a projectile’s flight through the air after it leaves its launcher. It describes the trajectory between launch and impact, rather than impact itself.
V50 ballistic limit: The estimated velocity at which a specified projectile has a 50 percent probability of perforating a target. It summarizes barrier resistance using repeated partial- and complete-penetration tests.

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