Silver bullet
Encyclopedia
In folklore, the silver
bullet is supposed to be the only kind of bullet
for firearm
s that is effective against a werewolf
, witch, or other monster
s. Sometimes (not always) the silver bullet is also inscribed with Christian religious symbolism, such as a cross or the initials "J.M.J" (Jesus, Mary & Joseph).
, where "silver bullet" refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technological development or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem. It is quite possible, however, that this usage derives from a confusion of "silver bullet" with "magic bullet," the popular term for Dr. Paul Ehrlich
's newly-discovered cure for syphilis in the early 20th century. The medical breakthrough was the subject of the 1940 film, "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet," and prompted the metaphorical use of "magic bullet" as a powerful cure for a pressing societal problem.
has a 10% higher density than silver
so a silver bullet will have a little less mass than a lead bullet of identical dimensions. Pure silver is less malleable than lead and falls between lead
and copper
in terms of hardness (2.5 Mohs) and shear modulus (30 GPa). As a result, a silver bullet would have no difficulty accepting the rifling
of a gun barrel as both lead and copper are common bullet materials.
The terminal impact is somewhat speculative and will depend on a variety of factors including bullet size and shape, flight distance, and target material. At short ranges, the silver bullet will most likely give better penetration due to its higher shear modulus, and will not deform as much as a lead bullet.
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
bullet is supposed to be the only kind of bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
for firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s that is effective against a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
, witch, or other monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
s. Sometimes (not always) the silver bullet is also inscribed with Christian religious symbolism, such as a cross or the initials "J.M.J" (Jesus, Mary & Joseph).
In folklore
- The idea of the werewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
's supposed vulnerability to silver probably dates back to the legend of the Beast of GévaudanBeast of GévaudanThe Beast of Gévaudan is a name given to man-eating wolf-like animals alleged to have terrorized the former province of Gévaudan , in the Margeride Mountains in south-central France from 1764 to 1767 over an area stretching . The beasts were consistently described by eyewitnesses as having...
, in which a gigantic wolf is killed by Jean ChastelJean ChastelJean Chastel was a local farmer and inn-keeper, noted for killing the Beast of Gévaudan on June 19, 1767 at Mont Mouchet. According to tradition and several subsequent novels, he positioned himself on a prime spot to get first bids on the beast and opened the Bible...
wielding a gun loaded with silver bullets.
- In the Brothers GrimmBrothers GrimmThe Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
fairy-tale of The Two BrothersThe Two BrothersThe Two Brothers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 60. It is Aarne-Thompson type 567A, the magic bird heart, and type 303, the blood brothers.-Synopsis:...
, a bullet-proof witch is shot down by silver bullets, fired from a gun.
- In some epic folk songs about BulgarianBulgariansThe Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
rebel leader DelyoDelyoDelyo was a Bulgarian rebel leader who was active in the Rhodope Mountains in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.Delyo was born in Belovidovo in the Smolyan region in the 17th century. He headed an armed detachment of rebels in the central Rhodopes and acted against the Ottoman authorities'...
, he is described as invulnerable to normal weapons, driving his enemies to cast a silver bullet in order to murder him.
- Silver bullets also act as a calling card for The Lone RangerThe Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
in his adventures. The masked man decided to use bullets forged from the precious metal as a symbol of justice, law and order, and to remind himself and others that life, like silver, has value and is not to be wasted or thrown away. In the 3rd episode, his friend, who will be making his bullets for him, mentions killing bad guys with the bullets and the Lone Ranger explains that he won’t shoot to kill; he will let the law dispense justice. The silver bullets will be as symbols of justice. Whether he actually used silver bullets in his guns varies depending on story and medium. In the radio series, the Lone Ranger used only lead bullets as weapons, while the silver bullets were used symbolically. In the 1981 feature filmThe Legend of the Lone RangerThe Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....
The Lone Ranger used silver bullets in his guns as he was told that silver was far more solid than lead slugs and provided a straighter shot. The Lone Ranger's usage of bullet made from valuable metal like silver is satirized in an episode of Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
where after expertly shooting a tin can in the air, the Ranger's sidekick Tonto laments that the amount of silver the Ranger thoughtlessly wasted could have bought enough food to feed Tonto's entire village for a year.
Idiomatic usage
The term has been adopted into a general metaphorMetaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
, where "silver bullet" refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technological development or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem. It is quite possible, however, that this usage derives from a confusion of "silver bullet" with "magic bullet," the popular term for Dr. Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich was a German scientist in the fields of hematology, immunology, and chemotherapy, and Nobel laureate. He is noted for curing syphilis and for his research in autoimmunity, calling it "horror autotoxicus"...
's newly-discovered cure for syphilis in the early 20th century. The medical breakthrough was the subject of the 1940 film, "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet," and prompted the metaphorical use of "magic bullet" as a powerful cure for a pressing societal problem.
Ballistic effectiveness
Silver bullets differ from lead bullets in several respects. LeadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
has a 10% higher density than silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
so a silver bullet will have a little less mass than a lead bullet of identical dimensions. Pure silver is less malleable than lead and falls between lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
in terms of hardness (2.5 Mohs) and shear modulus (30 GPa). As a result, a silver bullet would have no difficulty accepting the rifling
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
of a gun barrel as both lead and copper are common bullet materials.
The terminal impact is somewhat speculative and will depend on a variety of factors including bullet size and shape, flight distance, and target material. At short ranges, the silver bullet will most likely give better penetration due to its higher shear modulus, and will not deform as much as a lead bullet.
See also
- Magic bulletMagic bulletMagic bullet may refer to:* In the German folk legend Freischütz, an enchanted bullet obtained by a marksman through a contract with the devil....
- Golden hammerGolden hammerThe concept known as the law of the instrument, Maslow's hammer, or a golden hammer is an over-reliance on a familiar tool; as Abraham Maslow said in 1966, "It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."-History:The first recorded statement of the...
- No Silver BulletNo Silver Bullet"No Silver Bullet — Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering" is a widely discussed paper on software engineering written by Fred Brooks in 1986...
- Software Engineering: No silver bullet
External links
- More on the confusion between silver bullet and magic bullet here
- Another site on Silver Bullets
- Casting Silver Bullets
- Lone Ranger Go Away. Classic 1964 Article