Paintball vs Airsoft Energy Transfer
Paintball and Airsoft speeds and weights can be calculated into Joules, or basically the amount of impact energy. The following chart uses basic mathematical functions to show the comparison of paintball impact force to that of airsoft impact force. The amount of kinetic energy transferred.
The Formula for calculating Joules is as follows:
E=1/2mv2
E= Joules m= mass in kilograms v= velocity in meters per second
FPS= Feet Per Second MPS= Meters Per Second
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Paintball Conversions |
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| English | Metric | |||
| Weight (g) | FPS | Weight (kg) | MPS | Joules |
| 3.18 | 250 | 0.00318 | 76.2 | 9.23224 |
| 3.18 | 275 | 0.00318 | 83.82 | 11.17101 |
| 3.18 | 300 | 0.00318 | 91.44 | 13.29443 |
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Airsoft Conversions |
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| English | Metric | |||
| Weight (g) | FPS | Weight (kg) | MPS | Joules |
| .20 | 250 | 0.0002 | 76.2 | 0.580644 |
| .20 | 275 | 0.0002 | 83.82 | 0.702579 |
| .20 | 300 | 0.0002 | 91.44 | 0.836127 |
| .43 | 650 | 0.00043 | 198.12 | 8.43908 |
As can be seen in the last example, which is far beyond actual airsoft limitations, even with these ridiculous figures plugged in for weight and velocity, the energy transfer is not as great as that of the slowest moving paintball.
The chart also clearly points out that even the slowest paintballs are transfering about 1000%-1800% more energy than an average airsoft.