Why you can't 'normaly' dodge a bullet!

StoryLine:

You just finished watching the movie-The Matrix and you're feeling so high, you practically want someone to shoot you so you could dodge the bullet. But then you have second thoughts, "let me go consult EdScienceBlog before i set out on this task".

Action!!!

You: Hey yo! I want to try out this scene...what do i need to know?

EdScienceBlog: LOL...forget about what countless hollywood movies would have you believe. Dodging a bullet fired at you is almost impossible.

You: But why?

EdScienceBlog: (remind me before the end of this meeting to explain the bolded word -'almost')

you are up against some factors, let me define them.

i  Muzzle Velocity: The speed with which a bullet leaves a gun.

For modern rifles, the average muzzle velocity is about 1,200meters per second. i.e. within a second, the bullet has gotten to 1,200 meters from where it was fired. . .think about that!

ii Reaction Time:   The elapsed time between the presentation of stimulus and your response to it.

The average reaction time for humans is 0.25 seconds for visual stimulus, 0.17 for audio stimulus and 0.15 seconds for touch stimulus.

so, you'll need a cue, like something to alert you, for you to react- by dodging.

something you need to note here is that, due to the muzzle velocity of the gun, it would be practically impossible for you to see the bullet leave the gun, so that strikes out relying on visual stimulus from your list.

You: So what can i rely on?

EdScienceBlog: er...we have touch stimulus there, you could rely on the sense of touch from the bullet! oh wait...you'll be dead in an instance. LOL

You: Be serious jhor... how about the sense of sound?

EdScienceBlog: Ah...yeah! there could be a possibility with that, lets see.

It is scientifically proven that the speed of sound in air is 343 meters per second. Unfortunately, the muzzle velocity of an average gun is far greater than the speed of sound, meaning the bullet would have hit you before you can even hear the gun sound. . .sorry man!

You: Wow! then imagine the shooter is using a silencer, like the type James Bond uses in movies, that means no sound at all...chai!

EdScienceBlog: Argghh!! Hollywood again!

firstly, it's officially called a SUPPRESSOR. Secondly, it doesn't make the gun as quiet as Hollywood would make you believe...but then, thats a digression.

You: hmmm...so you said i should remind you about the word 'almost'

EdScienceBlog: I did?

You: yes.

EdScienceBlog: Why?

You: I should be asking you that!

EdScienceBlog: LOL... i'm just pulling your legs.

Depending on the distance of the shooter from the shooted, one could possibly dodge a bullet. (Note; not a bullet from a sniper o!) as shown by MythBusters in one of their videos. But bear in mind that the shooter has to be very, very, very far away, and you have to react before he pulls the trigger in order for you to successfully stay alive in this experiment. How you'll achieve that. . .na you know!

You: Thanks! I think i'll look for something better to do with my life.

EdScienceBlog: You welcome! please, click the share button below to share this post with your friends who are also having this thought of committing suicide!