-=> On 12-24-97  11:44 Roy J. Tellason said to Wayne Thompson <=-
 WT> I doubt if you can get a ball bearing moving that fast out
 WT> of a sling.  A Civil War rifled musket with a heavy charge
 WT> of "patent" black powder could get a .54 to .58 caliber
 WT> Minie bullet well into the 2,000+ fps range which is
 WT> somewhere around twice the speed of sound.
 RJT> Aw,  c'mon,  don't keep us in suspense!  How fast would you have to
 RJT> spin that sucker?     :-)
Would you believe 9,500 rpm?  A 4 ft. cord with the pouch in the
middle means a 2 ft. radius and a 12.6 ft circumference.  (2 * pi
* R) That means you have to spin the sucker at 9,500 rpm to reach
2,000 fps at the end of the cord.
Actually the service load (70 gr. of FF) was closer to 1,200
fps. or less, even in the long barreled muskets of the day.  That
would require *only* 5,730 rpm to duplicate.
How's about it, is you arm up to the task?
T.E. - San Diego Ilks (Sgt. at Arms)
... When catching snakes, use your enemy's hand.
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