MY SOMALI BOOK 



279 



that it has to do more work m overcoming additional 

 resistance. It is clear then that in so far as the amount 

 of resistance affects expansion, the velocity of a bullet 

 is in itself of no importance. In any moment of time 

 the expansion of a slow bullet will be less than that of 

 a more speedy one, but, taking a longer time to reach 

 its goal, it will, when it has eventually arrived there, 

 have attained an equal amount of expansion. That the 

 faster bullet may go farther and then expand more 

 matters nothing, if the slow bullet has travelled as far 

 as is necessary. Thus we see that high velocity is 



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not a necessity in the production of expansion, apart 

 that is from momentum, which must, of course, be 

 adequate to overcome the resistance met with. 



There is another direction in which the effectiveness 

 of a bullet may depend upon its form, weight, and 

 velocity. Ordinarily when we speak of the accuracy 

 of a bullet we refer to its flight through the air. But, 

 though it may be less obvious, we also require accuracy 

 in the course of the bullet after impact. It is of little 

 use aiming correctly at an animal's heart, if the bullet, 

 touching a bone on its way, be deflected from its course, 

 and miss the heart. Such cases of deflection not 

 infrequently occur, owii\g to the varying nature of the 



