Answer to Question #142702 in Mechanics | Relativity for mungaster

Question

A hunter fires a gun while standing with the bottom of the gun against her shoulder. If the forward momentum of a bullet is the same as the backward momentum of the gun, why is it not dangerous to be hit by the gun as it is by the bullet?

Answer 1

From the law of conservation of momentum,the energy of the bullet is much more than the energy of the gun. Since energy is produced,the energy of the chemical explosion of the bullet is changed into the combined energy of bullet and gun,along with heat and noise. Thus, if the gun hit the hunter,it could cause more danger since it carries more kinetic energy than when hit by the gun which has a small velocity and a large mass.