Recently, a Canadian helicopter pilot flying in Afghanistan was quoted as saying words to the effect of that ‘you can actually see the bullets whizzing around when you’re wearing your night vision goggles or using night vision equipment’.
I realize, of course, that he didn’t literally mean that you could see the bullets, but rather the trails they formed as they zipped around. I have two questions:
Is this true, or was he exaggerating? Do you actually see the bullet trails at night using night vision goggles?
If it’s true, how does it work? Are the bullets usuallly so hot that they glow, and glow enough to be seen with night vision equipment?
I guess I have a third question (which, I suppose, is really more of an IMHO type of thing. In any case,)
Does seeing the bullet trails, and possibly quite dense networks of them, make the “typical” soldier more or less scared of being hit?
I can see it both ways - by seeing the bullets, it might give you a sense of control, or at least a sense of knowing where/when it’s relatively safe. OTOH, seeing them whiz by, especially at the speed they’re traveling, could well bring home the bullets physical “realness” and the very real possibility of being hit by them (a realization, or fear, which I’d assume is less likely to occur when the bullets are invisible and, thus, in some sense, don’t exist).
I don’t know but I think it’s entirely possible. Particularly for bullets whose track you are seeing from near end-on. The bullets don’t need to “glow.” People don’t glow and they are eminently visible on night vision equipment. Bullets are quite hot and as I understand things a good deal of the damage from gunshot wounds is the fact that they are hot.
As to question 3, I don’t know. I do know that very few think they are the ones that will be hit. It will be tough and some will, but not me.
No, the damage done by a gunshot wound comes from the physical damager wrought by the passage of a bullet, the hydrostatic pressure wave (in the case of a high powered rifle round), and, at contact range, the muzzle blast. While a just fired bullet is quite warm, primarily due to friction of the sides of the bullet against the rifling, it’s not hot enough to do any more than a first degree burn (or perhaps a very mild second degree burn if you held it in your hand for seconds).
My speculation on why you can see the passage of bullets (if in fact this is true) stems from the fact that night vision goggles use what’s called a photomultiplier tube which contains photocathodes that are stimulated by very small amounts of light (even single photons) that are outside of the visual spectrum, which subsequently emit electrons via the photoelectric effect. The charge is amplified and used to stimulate emission of visible wavelength photons. Because of the amplification and time lag from dissipating the amplified charge, images will tend to be brighter and persist longer than the same scene in normal daylight, especially if there is a larger thermal difference between the object and the backdrop it appears against. You can see from [night vision imagery](javascript:viewclip(%20’http://www.gotfootage.com/gf/store/node/viewclip/id/A243-164;jsessionid=FE920524274E5C54D1AC2CDB9D05E661’%20)) that there’s a high latency in image refresh similar to a low frame rate on film. You’ll also get artifacts from overstimulation, which you can also see by taking a picture of a really bright object (like the reflection of the Sun in a mirror) with a digital camera.
Personally, I have never seen bullets whizzing about, and I’ve fired thousands upon thousands of rounds through NVGs, both .50 Cal and minigun. What you do see are the tracer rounds.
Depending on the ratio of ball ammo to tracer, the minigun can look like it’s shooting out a laser, but for every tracer round you see there are about four that you don’t.
I’ll note that in decent sunlight you can easily see a .45 pistol bullet in flight, if you are standing behind the shooter (or, presumably, if you were the one being shot at - though I haven’t verified this). Likewise, I’ve seen high-power rifle bullets (.308) in flight through a 30-power scope focused on the target 200 yds downrange - the bullet is quite obviously “falling” (descending) as it strikes the target.
You could see it better if you weren’t focused on the target, but instead focused on the mirage closer to the midrange, like between midrange and the target. Either way, I’m sure you’re not seeing the actual bullet, but instead you’re seeing the ripples it makes through the air. Looks just like they do in The Matrix. I’m sure that’s what you meant, but I’m just clarifying for everyone else. Or maybe you just have really good eyesight? Hell, I can barely see a golf ball flying through the air. Maybe you can see the bullet?
As far as seeing bullets flying through NVGs? I would have to see the quote, but my bet is he’s talking about tracers.
Well, you see a bullet-sized object moving rapidly. I’m not quite sure what visible “ripples” a bullet makes in the air, but presumably these would persist for at least a small time, which isn’t what your eye reports.
Some “night-vision goggles” are thermal scopes, which detect radiated infrared. I think these are the ones that might allow one to see bullets in flight.
The trail is seen in real-time. It’s not like a ripple in the water. It makes a ripple trail. I assumed this is what you were doing behind your 30x spotting scope. Apparantly you were just watching bullets. I’ve never heard anyone doing that, though. During rapid fire at a competition, the spotter is usually watching the ripple trail in the mirage and telling the shooter how to adjust. If you can see the bullet while focused on the target, then you’d have a distinct advantage.
ETA: But this technique is for long distances. It wouldn’t be used at 200yds. It probably doesn’t even work that close up, I dont know. I never tried it. At 200yds you just shoot. You dont need really need to make wind adjustments and stuff while you’re firing at that close distance.
Also, I’m not talking about the 45. I’m talking about the .308 through the spotting scope. You need binos or a scope to see the trails in the mirage. You’re not going to see that with your bare eye. Well… most people can’t, anyway.
My thought as well. If the quote is coming from a helicopter pilot odds are he’s using a thermal imaging system, rather than the light amplification that most soldiers are familiar with (which are still pretty damned cool and make for some wonderful stargazing on a moonless night!).
He is talking about tracers. Keep in mind that tracers are bullets. Your assumption about seeing trails is not correct. You do not see bullet trails either with NVGs or with the naked eye. You can see them using the technique I described earlier with a spotting scope. The trail you are seeing is the ripple effect in the mirage. It is caused by the bullet moving the air, and has nothing to do with heat from the bullet or anything like that.
That’s not really what he’s saying. He is just saying that they show up quite well when wearing NVGs–not that NVGs were required to see them. They are brighter and more obvious with NVGs on, just like any light. You usually don’t notice the burning end of someone’s cigarette, but you will see it quite well through NVGs.
Through his NVGs, he would be able to see tracers, (especially the bigger ones because they’re brighter) and RPGs. He mentioned they would “streak past in green”, so he’s not using some super-sensitive FLIR or something. FLIR is black and white. There is no green.
He was certainly wearing his ANVIS Night Vision Goggles. They use the same 3rd gen tubes that are in my NVGs. And they cannot detect normal ball ammo flying through the air. Just in case I just have poor eyesight or was never paying close enough attention, I asked two dozen people today if they’ve ever seen standard ball ammunition through NVGs. None have.
People are also visible without NVGs. Bullets are not. Because they are small. And they are fast. So they are incredibly hard to see. Even the people who claim they can see bird shit falling from 1200 feet would not say they see it “quite well”. If bullets are not glowing, you can’t see them in the dark. If they are not glowing, you can’t see them with NVGs either. Bullets do not reflect enough light. Not even for NVGs. The fact that a huge person reflects enough light to see through NVGs has nothing to do with seeing bullets. That was a pretty silly statement all around.
Slight hijack - i’ve been wondering this for a while and clearly you’re the man to ask. What exactly are tracers? By that i mean what makes them glow and what purpose do they serve?
Tracers are bulllets with a slab of phosphorous on the tail end. When you fire 'em out of your weapon of choice, the phosphorous ignites and burns quite brightly.
Why? For no better reason than you can see where your bullets is going. Usually they are used for machine-gun type fire when you’re plinking on targets that you can’t really “aim” at. Imigine trying to hit a hornet’s nest with a garden hose. If you’re really good, you might be able to just point the hose, spray and “viola” trouble! But most of us turn on the stream and “walk” it over to the hornet’s nest and hold it there for as long as it takes to get the job done.
Same thing with machine gun fire using tracers. Also, it makes night time warfare a pretty cool proposition.
They are regular bullets that are modified and filled with chemicals that ignite when they are fired. So the bullet glows and is visible–even in the daytime. This allows you to see where your bullets are going, so you can make quick adjustments. Works best for machineguns that are putting lots of lead downrange. You can actually walk your rounds into your target because you can see your tracers. Just start shooting in the general direction, then adjust until your tracers are hitting the target.
They are also helpful for target designation. You might be the only person who sees the bad guy. No one else can shoot at him, because no one else knows where he is. But if you have tracers loaded in your magazine, your buddies can see what you’re shooting at. Or if you’re trying to tell a guy where you want him to launch a grenade. It’s so much easier to put 6-7 rounds on a target and say “Right there”, then to say “See that window? No the other one. No, past that one on that mud hut. No, the mud hut with the rusty gate. No, the…”
But the primary purpose for them is aiming machineguns, and I’m sure that’s the purpose they were designed for. All the other little benefits they offer are secondary.
