Force of a speeding bullet-knock down power?

[Ed Ely]

Now for Ed's analogy. I once saw a big robust,
hairy chested individual at a carnival many years
ago. His claim to fame: he would lie down flat,
let his assistant place a huge, flat rock on his
chest (maybe a three-four inch thick by 30"X30"
or so).

While lying down in a prone position, the flat rock
lying on his bare chest, his assistant would take
a large sledge hammer and swing it down onto the
rock which was placed on the big guys chest. The
purpose of course was to break and crumble the
rock with the force of the blow. That it did, the
big bare chested guy would rake away the broken
mess, stand up and acknowledged all the cheers.

There was one amongst our group who challenged
this mighty tough guy. The proposal was - to size
down the rock to the size of a man's fist, place it on
the tough guys' chest, then let the hammer down.

Of course the tough guy declined. We all know what
that sledge hammer would have done. Point here is:
directed force and selected back stop to limit impact
in a directional way.

Ed

[mandohack]

There's also the Hatcher Theory (note: "theory", not "law").

http://www.abaris.net/info/ballistics/hatcher-table.htm

[Brush-Wolf-Lady]

A shot to the spine severing the spinal cord will make someone fall over. Not to mention a good solid brain or brain stem hit.

I saw a video the other night were a jewelry store owner shoots an attempted robber in the back and he goes right down- he was hit in the spine.

Otherwise, I can't see a bullet just making someone get knocked over, more than likley it will pass right out the other side, or is lower velocity or a hollowpoint and will not exit, but not produce enough energy to make someone fall over. I have talked to and read about people who have been shot, some didn't even know they had been shot until they felt the blood trickling out, or they felt what amounts to bee stings.

[retired]

Ed, same reason why some people can lay on a bed of nails; the force is distributed equally or so I have read. Not that I have any intent of doing so.