@Faket .basically if it is moving near the speed of light if it goes towards you it would look near instantaneous, if it moves away then it would move at half speed. This is the same regardless of what the speed limit happens to be so long as it is finite and the bullet is moving near this limit.

@freemo @Faket
There is a real world analogy to this (perception of a gun firing and arrival of the bullet). When a high-powered sniper rifle is fired, the bullet travels at supersonic speed, so someone near the target will see (the effect of) the bullet arriving before they hear the sound of the gun shot or hear the bullet's sonic boom.

@Pat

Good example.. and now thank you for that nightmare.. imagine getting shot dead and feeling the bullet and your life drain moments **before** hearing the gunshot. You would think you were just hallucinating due to the fact that your dying when in reality its just science, but would still be creepy.

@Faket

@freemo @Faket
Didn't mean to give you nightmares! I watch a lot of American scripted TV, which unfortunately contains way too much gun violence, include stuff like that example.

@Pat

Fair, fortunately in the USA guns arent nearly as common as TV may make you think.

@Faket

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@freemo @Faket
Gun ownership in the US is actually very high, much more than 50%, but gun violence is much rarer than depicted on TV. It's nearly impossible to watch TV for some period of time without seeing gun violence. However, responsible gun use is almost never depicted on TV.

You'd think that people who oppose gun violence would want TV programs to help inform people about the safe use of guns, but they don't.

@Pat

Most people go their whole lives in america and maybe see a gun once or twice and only at a shooting range.

Gun ownership isnt rare in terms of percentages but it is highly concentrated and those who own guns tend to be somewhat private about it. so regardless of just how many physical guns there are it is pretty typical to go your whole life in america and never see a gun in person.

@Faket

@freemo @Faket
I guess it depends on where you live and lifestyle. In a nice area of a large, densely populated city, it's true that you wouldn't often see a gun, except maybe those carried by law enforcement.

I live in area where I hear gunshots almost every weekend, and I think "Oh, there's somebody having some quality time with their kids plinking cans." Whereas someone who lives in an urban setting who hears gunshots may think, "Oh no, the gangs are battling it out again."

@Pat

Very true, my dad is from the middle of nowhere (Montana where you can barely see your neighbor's home from your porch)... anyone out there has seen, held, and used a gun. But rural residents are a minority and most of the population are in or near cities where its not nearly as common.

@Faket

@freemo @Faket
Yeah, I guess that makes the depictions on TV even worse,. If TV guns are all that people ever see, then they get a distorted picture of them -- they think gun violence is more prevalent, or they don't realize the real life power of guns and the consequences of gun violence, since most people who are shot on TV (usually "bad guys") are depicted as "disposable" characters who are just shown grabbing their chest and falling over, whereas in real life all those people would have had families and friends and children who would grief their lost, and many other tragic consequences that are not usually shown on TV and film..

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