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The Magnus effect
In the figure above, a bullet is viewed from behind and is assumed to
have right-handed twist. Additionally, the bullet should have an angle
of yaw d, its longitudinal
axis should be inclined to the left. Then there is a component of the flowfield
velocity vn, perpendicular to the bullet´s axis of symmetry.
Due to bullet spin and air molecules adhering to the bullet´s surface,
the flowfield in the vicinity of the bullet becomes asymmetric. Air stream
velocity and the rotational velocity of the body subtract at point
A and add at point B (see above figure). However, according to Bernoulli´s
rule (see any elementary physics book), this coincides with a pressure
difference. A higher pressure at A and a lower pressure at B give rise
to a downward directed force, which is called the Magnus force FM
.
  
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