The thought experiment: How fat do you have to be to stop a bullet? (2024)

FAQs

How much fat does it take to stop a bullet? ›

14 inches of fat only slows bullet

The 14 inches of gelatine only managed to halve the speed of the ball bearing, but not stop it. The Naked Scientists hypothesised that it would take at least twice as much fat to stop a bullet. “That is 72 centimetres [28.3 inches] of fat and is somewhat unfeasible,” they concluded.

No. A very fat person might be harder to hit in the vitals, being of an unusual shape, but a bullet will travel through a fat person like a hot knife through butter.

It depends on the gun

Experiments using ballistic gelatine to mimic the human body suggest that a 9mm bullet from a handgun will penetrate about 60cm through human fat tissue. A fully jacketed bullet from an assault rifle, such as an AK-47, will go much further and can easily shoot through a brick wall.

The short answer is morbidly obese. Science shows that a 9mm bullet shot from a hand gun can cut through 60cm of fat before it stops. However, it will cause a cubic centimetre of damage for every centimetre travelled, so even if it stops before reaching the organs the shock could cause internal damage.

Absolutely not. Your muscle is not strong enough to prevent the bullet from reaching the organs. The kinetic energy causes more damage than the bullet itself. The kinetic energy of a bullet, even a 22 caliber bullet, will penetrate the muscular wall with ease.

Even if the skin was bulletproof and would never be punctured by bullets, the sheer force of the bullet moving at such a high acceleration would definitely impact you. A 9mm handgun round would knock the wind out of you; a 50 BMG would break your ribs and that could kill you.

Obesity may provide a very small chance of reducing penetration deeper into the vital areas of the gut, but most premium JHP ammo penetrates 12–18″ in ballistic gel. Even 3–4″ of excess fat isn't going to make much of a difference in most cases. Very minor advantage.

A major benefit of choosing our products for a weighted vest is that they are actually bulletproof as compared to the traditional weighted vests you may find on Amazon or eBay. This means that your weighted vest could double as a protective vest should there not be time to get to your emergency body armor kit.

For years, doctors have believed that the more you weigh, the more unhealthy you are, and the higher your risk of disease and death. But this 2005 study found that people with body mass indexes in the overweight category were actually at lower risk of death than those with a "normal" BMI.

What do fat bullets do? ›

Makes bullets larger and more effective. The effectiveness of a bullet is directly related to its size with zero exceptions. Fat bullets is a passive item and a bullet upgrade.

The term “bulletproof” typically refers to materials or structures that can resist penetration by bullets or other projectiles. However, it's important to note that no material or structure can be considered “bulletproof” in all situations.

Depends on the bullet & the type of steel. A standard velocity . 22LR will be stopped by a 1/4” mild steel plate, but a . 50BMG AP round would probably punch right thru 1/2” of AR-500 armor plate …

Unfortunately, these types of body armor are usually too bulky and heavy to wear for everyday use.

The formula for kinetic energy (KE) is KE = 1/2 mv2, where m is the mass of the bullet and v is the velocity. After computing, we find that the work required to stop the bullet is 225 Joules. This represents the energy that must be dissipated, likely as heat and deformation, for the bullet to come to a halt.

In our review of 311 patients with penetrating trauma, we found that there was no decreased rate of operation or of other measures of injury outcome, such as mortality, LOS, ICU LOS, or units of blood transfused in obese patients.