LEAD: Pb ( Latin plumbum) - WASH YOUR HANDS !

LEAD:Pb(from the Latin plumbum) - now listen here 'plum bum'

Thinking about another topic to bore you with - lead came to mind as it's firearms related of course. - Well, what a murky pond of science that was to dive into - Talk about fascinating!

Wikipedia says that lead is a chemical element in the carbon group ( Who'd ever have guessed that for a start?) It has the symbol Pb and an atomic number of 82 (heavy) - that means that it has 82 protons in its atom and apparantly 82 is a 'magic number' - that magic means that those protons are arranged into a complete shell in the nucleus.

 - Just to keep your attention here, - the heaviest stable nuclide 'lead208' is 'double magic' whatever that means! - Particle physics can be fun !! - if you enjoy hadrons, quarks, and 'gluons.

                                                  LEAD DIVING BELT WEIGHTS

While we are talking about protons - you might care to note that free protons such as those found in the solar wind (Oh No!) are whizzing about our planet and using us as targets, at a typical velocity between 250-450 kilometers per second and are damaging to the health of our chromosomes. For comparison, the cast or swaged chunks of lead that we use to punch holes in paper targets are moving at roughly 400 metres per second - that's about a thousand times slower than the free protons!

The stuff we use in a typical 45ACP or 9x19mm pill starts as pure lead (that is weakly radioactive!) before being alloyed to suite, and has an allotropic structure (Huhh?) that is a "face-centered cubic crystal".

Lead has had many uses throughout recorded time - think about plumbing, lead-acid batteries, bullets, shot, weights, solders, - how about radiation shields when you have an X-Ray? - It used to be very important as printing type for books and newspapers - and a particular alloy used in printing 'Linotype' was the favorite metal for shooters casting bullets for reloading handgun cartridges. - You can't get it anymore - since computors took-over the printing game, it's become "unobtainium"!

Lead melts at a low temperature for metals of 327.5 C - but that is dangerously HOT when you are mere flesh & bone - and all reloaders and shooters should be very aware that lead dust is poisonous and we all should have a strict rule of washing both hands and face very thoroughly after handling bullets and ammo - and not to eat anything until all lead has been removed.

 - Shooting parents should be double careful as kids are very vulnerable to lead toxicity and absorb a lot more of it than adults.
Lead poisoning affects the nervous system, cardiovascular system, brain, kidneys, and immune systems, along with a long list of other nasty effects. - Maybe we should be advised to use plated and jacketed projectiles rather than the cheaper exposed lead stuff (- as well as being told not to stand in front of it when it goes bang !).

Marty K.
After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?

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