Balistyk

Balistyk, commonly known in English as ballistics, is the scientific study of the motion of projectiles and the forces acting upon them. It encompasses the production, launch, flight, and impact of bullets, shells, arrows, missiles, and other forms of projectiles. The field is traditionally divided into internal ballistics (behavior inside the gun bore), external ballistics (flight path from muzzle to target), and terminal ballistics (effects on target).

Historically, balistyk emerged with the development of firearms and artillery. Early quantitative work began in the 17th and 18th centuries with studies on muzzle velocity and recoil; the 19th and 20th centuries saw advances in measurement, aerodynamics, and computational methods.

Key tools include chronographs for velocity, ballistic pendulums, Doppler radar, high-speed cameras, and wind tunnels. External ballistics relies on drag models and ballistic coefficients to predict trajectory, while terminal ballistics studies energy transfer, penetration, and deformation.

Applications span military and defense, law enforcement, sports shooting, forensics (forensic ballistics), and aerospace research. Ballistics research informs ammunition design, firearms safety, and forensic analysis of crime scenes.

While balistyk is often used as a general term, many languages use "balistyka" or "ballistics" for the same field. Subfields include forensic ballistics, computational ballistics, and materials science related to armor and projectiles.