On Wed, 02 Nov 2005 21:50:03 GMT, Ignoramus26745 wrote:
On 2 Nov 2005 21:35:18 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

Yes. Only reason it doesn't hurt you is because it's more spread out
(area), and dampened by the mass of the firearm. You still get the same
energy delivered to you (more, actually, due to air resistance to the
bullet), it's just spread out over more area _and_ more time so you're
not injured.

OK, today I am actually sober.
Let's not confuse energy with momentum.

I think that's what is happening, yes.

Newton's law states that the action (FORCE) is equal (but in opposite
direction) to opposing action (force).

OK. But that force is more spread out both in area and time for the
shooter, compared to the impact of the bullet.

The law of conservation of energy is a fully different law. It means
that energy cannot be created from nowhere. It keeps oil prices
high. In the case of shooting guns, the energy of bullets is given to
them by the burning gunpowder. Once the bullet flies out, gunpowder is
spent and burned. Unless the bullet weighs exacty as much as the gun,
there is no reason to expect energies of the gun and the bullet to be
the same.

One of us is confused.