Physicist Has Gun Fired at Him Underwater to Demonstrate Water Resistance

The fact that water is many times more dense than air, 784 times to be precise, has been known since the days of Euler more than 200 years ago, but its relevance in everyday life can still be hard to digest.
Jonathan Zhou
1/28/2016
Updated:
4/3/2016

The fact that water is many times more dense than air—784 times to be precise—has been known since the days of Euler more than 200 years ago, but its relevance in everyday life can still be hard to digest.

On NRK Viten, a Norwegian television program devoted to “experiments and explosions,” scientist Andreas Wahl is literally putting himself in front of a gun to demonstrate what that difference in density can mean, practically speaking.

Wahl placed himself underwater in a pool, and pulling a string, fired a gun nearby that was aimed at his chest, with the trajectory of the bullet captured in slow motion. The bullet failed to hit him, being stopped by the water resistance, and only managed to make a trail of air bubbles in its path before falling to the bottom of the pool.

The channel has Wahl performing other daredevil stunts that demonstrate scientific facts, such as sliding through a wave of flames after having doused himself with water, or using friction from a rope to prevent himself from hitting the ground from great heights.

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Jonathan Zhou is a tech reporter who has written about drones, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.
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