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Old September 3, 2013, 04:42 PM   #28
Brian Pfleuger
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Join Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Austin, CO
Posts: 19,578
The math isn't technically valid, it's just for an example of the probability, but I'd point out that it doesn't suggest that 1 in 10 bullets would contact a drop. It suggests that only one in 10 bullets would even have water IN IT'S FLIGHT PATH, in front or behind it, during ANY portion of it's 2 second flight.

If that's even remotely close to true, even if it's pessimistic by a factor of 100, the odds of a bullet actually HITTING a drop of water are exceedingly small.

They odds that they'd both be in the flight path ANYWHERE are about 1 in 10. The locations have to over-lap, not just both be somewhere in the flight path.

For example, the bullet takes up roughly 1/36,000th of the flight path. The drop of water takes up about 1/461000th of the flight path. The odds that they'd randomly be in the same place at the same time would be something like, 1:357000 or something.

Someone with more time will have to figure it if they'd like, I'm trying to do it between customers and pizza.
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