Physicist fires underwater gun at himself for science

(YouTube/NRK Viten)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Physicist Andreas Wahl was willing to put his life on the line in the name of science. He trusted in the power of physics so much that he willingly fired a loaded gun at himself — underwater.

The demonstration shows how a bullet is affected when fired underwater versus just through the air. A bullet faces a lot more resistance underwater and becomes nearly useless in inflicting any damage.

Wahl posted a video of the demonstration on YouTube, showing him neck-deep in a swimming pool with a string attached to the trigger of a gun. He dramatically counts down and then pulls the trigger. The bullet flies out of the barrel but quickly loses momentum and eventually falls to the pool floor before ever getting close to Wahl.

According to the description on the video, "It's harder to create movement in water than in air, because water molecules are closer together than air molecules."

The video shows the bullet cruising through the water from several different angles as well as in beautiful slow motion.

Wahl has posted several other daring feats on the NRK Viten YouTube channel. It goes without saying that you should probably not attempt to replicate any of his demonstrations.

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Devon Dewey

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