dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaRelative incapacitation contributions of pressure wave and wound channel in the Marshall and Sanow data set
| Authors | Michael Courtney, Amy Courtney |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0701266 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0701266 |
Abstract
The Marshall and Sanow data set is the largest and most comprehensive data set available quantifying handgun bullet effectiveness in humans. This article presents an empirical model for relative incapacitation probability in humans hit in the thoracic cavity by handgun bullets. The model is constructed by employing the hypothesis that the wound channel and ballistic pressure wave effects each have an associated independent probability of incapacitation. Combining models for these two independent probabilities using the elementary rules of probability and performing a least-squares fit to the Marshall and Sanow data provides an empirical model with only two adjustable parameters for modeling bullet effectiveness with a standard error of 5.6% and a correlation coefficient R = 0.939. This supports the hypothesis that wound channel and pressure wave effects are independent (within the experimental error), and it also allows assignment of the relative contribution of each effect for a given handgun load. This model also gives the expected limiting behavior in the cases of very small and very large variables (wound channel and pressure wave), as well as for incapacitation by rifle and shotgun projectiles.
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"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:01:17.240000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:01:17.240000Z",
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"abstract": "The Marshall and Sanow data set is the largest and most comprehensive data\nset available quantifying handgun bullet effectiveness in humans. This article\npresents an empirical model for relative incapacitation probability in humans\nhit in the thoracic cavity by handgun bullets. The model is constructed by\nemploying the hypothesis that the wound channel and ballistic pressure wave\neffects each have an associated independent probability of incapacitation.\nCombining models for these two independent probabilities using the elementary\nrules of probability and performing a least-squares fit to the Marshall and\nSanow data provides an empirical model with only two adjustable parameters for\nmodeling bullet effectiveness with a standard error of 5.6% and a correlation\ncoefficient R = 0.939. This supports the hypothesis that wound channel and\npressure wave effects are independent (within the experimental error), and it\nalso allows assignment of the relative contribution of each effect for a given\nhandgun load. This model also gives the expected limiting behavior in the cases\nof very small and very large variables (wound channel and pressure wave), as\nwell as for incapacitation by rifle and shotgun projectiles.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0701266",
"authors": [
"Michael Courtney",
"Amy Courtney"
],
"categories": [
"physics.med-ph"
],
"title": "Relative incapacitation contributions of pressure wave and wound channel in the Marshall and Sanow data set",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0701266"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
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"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
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