Airsoft

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Airsoft Paintball
The fun, danger, and physics behind combat sports.
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Definitions

• Airsoft is a combat sport in which opponents are
  eliminated when struck by small plastic BBs.
  Airsoft guns are typically designed as replicas
  of real firearms.
• Paintball is a similar sport where opponents are
  eliminated when struck by larger, liquid-filled
  gelatin paintballs fired by specialized paintball
  guns.

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History

• Paintball use began in forestry and agriculture
  when the paintballs were used to mark trees from
  a distance and used by cattlemen to mark their
  cows.
• Then, in 1981, twelve people tried using
  paintball guns to play a game called Survival.
  Similar to capture the flag, the game soon grew
  in popularity and the purchase of paintball guns
  for gaming began.

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• Airsoft, on the other hand, was developed in
  Japan in the 1980s.
• Local laws there prevent any privately owned
  firearms, so frustrated gun enthusiasts began
  making precise replicas of real firearms that
  shot tiny plastic BBs instead of live ammunition.

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Time For A Little Physics

• Matter is anything that is made of atoms and has
  mass.
• Energy is the capacity to do work. It is
  measured in Joules.
• Velocity is the change in position per amount of
  time (ex meters per second).

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Airsoft vs. Paintball

• Standard airsoft pellets have an average mass of
  around 0.20 grams (0.0002 kg) while paintballs
  are closer to 2.84 grams (0.00284 kg).
• The equation for the energy of objects in motion,
  called kinetic energy, is
• E ½mv²
• where E energy (J), m mass (kg), and v
  velocity (m/s)

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• Energy upon striking skin at a speed of 90
  meters/second
• Paintball Pellet E ½(.00284kg)(90m/s) ²
  11.50 Joules
• Airsoft Pellet E ½(.0002kg)(90m/s) ²
  0.81 Joules
• Pro Baseball pitch E ½(.145kg)(41m/s) ²
  120 Joules
• Pro Tennis Serve E ½(.06kg)(63m/s) ² 120
  Joules

Dont forget to convert to grams to kilograms!
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• Conclusions
• Even though airsoft pellets strike with less
  energy than a paintball, their energy is more
  focused in one area because of their size.
• This means that they can pierce skin more easily,
  while paintballs distribute their energy over a
  wider area and usually cause larger bruises.

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Examples
Paintball
Airsoft
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• Its important to realize that improper use of
  these toy weapons can still cause terrible
  injury.

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Playing Responsibly

• Always wear goggles!
• Treat every gun as if its loaded
• Dont rest your finger on the trigger unless
  youre ready to fire
• Always be aware of what youre aiming at
• Never shoot at anyone who does not have proper
  safety gear
• Avoid displaying airsoft or paintball guns in
  public places because of their realistic
  appearance

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Sources

• Images
• http//kitchen.vfmadi.ru/p/7/images/airsoft-gun-am
  mo-soft-air-6mm-plastic-bbs-200012-gr.jpg
• http//www.paramountzone.com/boytoys/pelletsl.jpg
• http//www.theairsoftgun.net/images/pellet.jpg
• http//www.blaxbox.com/Paintball20face.jpg
• http//www.paintballerz.com/products/Infamous_Inti
  m_Redbgsm.jpg
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/mtbeamish/192797541/
• Bruises
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/joshdouglas/179234642
  6/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/apocfrenzy/32321307/
• http//www.flickr.com/photos/squidly/9833049/
• http//sequoiaairsoft.com/img/bbdamage2.jpg