Synopsis

From specialized rounds designed to subdue hijackers without damaging an aircraft, to bullets engineered to slice through steel and "smart" projectiles guided by computer programming, this program explores the remarkable development of ammunition, beginning with its earliest forms in the 1300s – stones and simple round lead balls propelled from iron and bamboo tubes. These lead spheres remained dominant until 1841, when the introduction of a conical bullet revolutionized firearms technology. Vie