The physics of "back and to the left"

[Steve Barber]

Here's a nice little demonstration of why a bullet from the grassy knoll could not have flung JFK back into his seat. A bullet has just way too little mass to move an adults head so violently back and to the left. A bullet only has enough mass to move an adult head a little bit - which is why Oswalds bullet to JFKs head was only able to move JFKs head forward about 2 inches as seen in the Zapruder film when it is slowed down.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WvqTnqR2kn0

   

[Steve Barber]

And what is the maximum speed a Carcano bullet should push JFK’s head forward? Here are my calculations. Note, I don’t use the more scientific metric units but the physics still work using ‘pounds’ and ‘mph’ (miles per hour).

Mass of the bullet: About 10 grams, or about one third of an ounce, or about one fiftieth (1/50) of a pound.
Speed of the bullet: 1400 mph
Mass of JFK’s head, about 8 pounds.

Speed that the bullet could push JFK’s head:

N (momentum) = M (mass) * V (velocity)
V = N / M

Momentum of bullet = 1/50 * 1400 mph = 28 pounds * mph
Mass of JFK’s head = 7 pounds
Speed of JFK’s head if all the momentum of the bullet is received by the head = 28 pounds * mph / 7 pounds = 4 mph

The actual speed of JFK’s head moving forward between frames 312 and 313? 2 mph

Note, during z312 – z313, only JFK’s head moves forward. The torso does not. This was determined by Physics graduate student William Hoffman working with Josiah Thompson on the book ‘Six Seconds in Dallas’.

This accords well with Larry Sturdivan’s estimate who, based on his work with ballistics, judged that only half the momentum of the bullet would be absorbed by JFK’s head. The bullet fragments that exited from the head would have half the speed of the bullet at the initial strike, about 700 mph and these fragments would dent the windshield frame, crack the windshield and a third fragment slightly wounded James Tague.

A bullet from the front doesn’t work because:

•   Unlike the initial forward movement, both the head and the torso moved backwards during z313 – z318. This would require too much momentum from a single bullet, unless a highly implausible anti-tank weapon was used.
•   The speed of JFK’s head backwards is not constant but starts slowly, around 0.5 mph and over the next quarter of a second gradually builds up to 1.8 mph. This would be consistent not with one bullet, but a series of bullets, each striking the head, once every 1/18 th of second or once every Zapruder frame, adding more and more momentum with each frame. A single shot from a rifle can be fired accurately, but not a stream of bullets from a machine gun.
•   Also, one would expect the head to move backwards with a higher speed at first (with the bullet ‘pushing’ only the head), then at a lower speed (with the bullet ‘pushing’ both the head and the torso). This is the opposite of what is seen in the Zapruder film.

   

[Steve Barber]

A gulp of blood going down JFK's windpipe and him suddenly realizing he can't breath.

 

[Robert Reeves]

Glowing white blob/projectile firstly strikes cuff area of JFK's jacket and proceeds to strike JFK in the jawline, velocity of projectile forces JFK's centered head from facing the front to his left. Physics - Newton's second law of motion - in short, an object hit by a projectile will be given a motion that has the same direction as that of the projectile. Debate if the head off JFK moves forwards or back, in z313, whatever, you cannot prove anything with it. Which might explain why it keeps coming around and around. There is physical proof, in 2022, that can back up the claims I am making here.



'head snap' is the vernacular of choice for those that say the head moves momentarily forward before blowing backwards. But you can use it only if Steve the drummer in a band says so. I'm just saying this 'head snap' is more conclusive than 313. And, it (z-film) clearly captures a 'projectile' striking the target. What more proof do you need?



And, i'll clarify, the version of z-film displaying this projectile striking JFK's jawline is the version extracted by Robin Unger & Martin Heinreichs (sp) from the JFK movie by Oliver Stone.

We got everything, I think we were the first people to have the whole thing, we had it steadied, had every frame: I think the FBI had cut it up - or the police department had cut it up to analyze it. Anyway we restored it, we had the entire thing - Joe Hutshing, video editor for JFK movie

Oh btw, I have some more proof!

Just to add to this mystery. Does the 'projectile' glowing white blob strike the wrist area of JFK's jacket?

 

Is there also a corresponding mark on the sleeve of JFK's jacket in the area where a projectile is seen to strike his right wrist? 

Notice in CE393 the jacket worn by JFK has been photographed with the right sleeve (some might say, conveniently) tucked in so that the right cuff of the jacket isn't fully visible? below (I have a higher res version too)



A photo of the jacket was released (years later in the 80s) showing the right cuff. below



Clearly visible are the cuts in the jacket made by the doctors at Parkland hospital. But the right cuff area of the jacket also appears to have a cut in the fabric. And corresponds with the area to which the projectile is seen in the z-film striking JFK's wrist!



You can just about see the large blood stains on the cuff, around the area of the mark, then contrasted with the white lining below, where the parkland doctors cut.



And I guarantee there are two tiny holes on that right sleeve that would indicate a .22 caliber projectile made those holes. One of entrance, and exit. Most of the witnesses reported a firecracker sound. A smaller caliber weapon.



If anyone is fortunate to get to see JFK's coat, they will see two small holes. An entrance and an exit on the right cuff area. They are both slightly visible in the gif above. The projectile struck JFK's cuff and pierced a clump off material passing through it and then striking JFK's chin.



The z-frame above us approximately 257, shows blood or redness on JFK's jawline. JFk's autopsy photo also shows a circular indentation in the jawline corresponding to the z-film.

I have tried to get a high-res photo of the JFK jacket at the archives, but have been unsuccessful. If any one can get a close up of the sleeve. This would be very helpful.

If you want to see evidence of JFK's being shot from the front/side/conspiracy, etc, just pester the Kennedy family to see the jacket in person. It's all there!

[Gerry Down]

The white blob appears to be some type of artifact from stones work on the film to stabilize it. Bullets don't appear as slow moving white blobs.

[Chris Bristow]

There are three frames when the white blob is at its sharpest and clearest. During these three frames the white blob stays in the exact same position within the frame. That can only mean the projectile would be moving down Elm Street in the same direction and speed has the limo. That is completely impossible. If you tried to plot the trajectory it would fail. Wherever that projectile would be coming from it would have to alter its course and travel West with the limo at 8 in per frame for those three frames.

[Robert Reeves]

There are three frames when the white blob is at its sharpest and clearest. During these three frames the white blob stays in the exact same position within the frame. That can only mean the projectile would be moving down Elm Street in the same direction and speed has the limo. That is completely impossible. If you tried to plot the trajectory it would fail. Wherever that projectile would be coming from it would have to alter its course and travel West with the limo at 8 in per frame for those three frames.

That 'blob' could well be an easter egg delivered by Oliver Stone & Co. An attempt to fill in some blanks, of what they think has happened.

And to me, I think they were right. There does appear to be a shot striking JFK from his right side. I'm absolutely convinced JFK's left index finger is pointing at where, the direction, or even who, had already shot him in the throat. And he was shot again. The 'blob' scenario.

I've found the mark on JFK's jacket as a result of the 'blob' appearing to strike JFK's wrist area, firstly.

It would be very interesting to know if Stone's editor for JFK, Joe Hutshing, added this 'blob'. And without Oliver's knowledge. But I thank him anyway, because it's very fascinating to where it's directed me.

[Joe Elliott]

These calculations are very useful. Are you getting them from any particular book or source?

These calculations were made by me, based on various sources on the internet, which cover:

•   The approximate velocity of the WCC/MC bullet that struck JFK from a range of 88 yards.
•   The approximate weight of the bullet.
•   The approximate weight of an adult’s human head.

The best source of basic information, on the movement of JFK’s head and the speed of the limousine is, curiously, Josiah Thompson’s 1966 (?) book “Six Seconds in Dallas”, which covers the study by Physics Graduate student William Hoffman. Thompson’s basic idea in the 1960’s was very sound. Get a Physics Graduate student to study the data from the Zapruder film, to see in the motion of JFK’s head is consistent with a bullet strike from the front. To address two questions:

•   Immediate after JFK is struck in the head, does his head and torso move backwards with constant momentum.
•   If not, can this discrepancy be accounted for by the acceleration of the limousine, or by some other factor.

A Physics Graduate student is the one you would want for this study. When a scientist wins a Nobel Award in Physics it generally is not based on the data that he or she collected, it is based on the data collected by their Physics Graduate students who are working under them. Physics Graduate students are the best for this sort of work, and not the more senior university professors, because they have a lot more available time to put in the ‘grunt work’ of analyzing data.

William Hoffman’s included data showing, for frames 300 through 330 (as I recall):

•   The position of JFK’s head, relative to the limousine.
•   The estimated velocity of JFK’s head, relative to the limousine.
•   The acceleration of JFK’s head, relative to the limousine.

Because the Zapruder film was shot from the side, all measured motions are in the forward/backward direction. There is no good data on any side-to-side motion.

What Hoffman’s data shows is the head:

•   stayed mostly still, from z300 through z312,
•   moved forward for just one frame interval at 2 mph from z312 through z313,
•   gradually accelerated backward from 0.5 mph to 1.8 mph from z313 through z318.

JFK’s body clearly did not move backwards with constant momentum. Not only did the speed pick up, but the amount of mass which moved greatly increased, from JFK’s head alone moving at first, to both the head and torso moving by z315.

And this constant acceleration could not be accounted for by the acceleration of the limousine. While the limousine did accelerate slightly (likely related to the downward slope of the road) from z305 to z312, the acceleration was about one tenth of the amount required to explain JFK’s head acceleration during z313 through z318.

So, the “JFK’s head was pushed backwards by a bullet from the front” fails the physics test. This constant acceleration can only be accounted for by the Neurological Spasm theory.

What is my expertise on this? Not much, but more than most people. I took physics in my senior year of high school. Where I learned about the conservation of momentum and the conservation of energy. I would be lost except the physics of the JFK head shot involves the most basic concepts on Newtonian Physics.

In any case, Josiah Thompson had a good idea. Get a Physics Graduate student to collect the data so he could publish it. The problem is, that Mr. Thompson refused to accept the data he was presented with. But he still had William Hoffman’s data published because it was a good study that Thompson could not get himself to leave out his book. But he ignored the acceleration problem for many years, then ended up falsely claiming that the Zapruder film is too blurry to make accurate estimates.