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Old January 27, 2013, 05:10 PM   #12
Bongo Boy
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Join Date: December 18, 2008
Location: Colo Spgs CO
Posts: 517
A simple explanation, which of course may be incorrect, would seem to be offered by the fact (I assume it's a fact) that what we experience is the impulse required to provide the momentum change.

Given perceived recoil is the kind I...perceive...then that's pretty important to explain in getting a handle on why heavier bullets have a nicer [perceived] recoil.

One reasonable explanation would be that, for two otherwise identical situations where two bullets achieve the same peak momentum, the heavier one achieves it over a longer period of time. With that impulse duration being larger, and in the denominator, the impulse peak is likely lower.

It seems these differences (in impulse duration and peak) would be miniscule, but it at least seems reasonable that we're sensitive to small changes in the way the energy is delivered--especially changes in acceleration as you mentioned.

Conservation of momentum alone doesn't explain anything, near as I can tell, especially since the examples I selected were specifically chosen to reflect that while the change in momentum (power factor) is the same in all cases, experience says perceived recoil isn't (again, perceived is kind we're discussing).

Where's my thinking all fouled up?
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Last edited by Bongo Boy; January 27, 2013 at 06:51 PM.
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