The Cannon-es result remains available in the graph and numeric telemetry. No result is fabricated.
What goes up does not vanish.
Predict first. Then follow vertical velocity through zero at the apex and into descent. This generic classroom model teaches gravity, not firearm operation.
The apex is a hinge, not a resting place.
Pause the replay near the top. Velocity can be zero for one instant while downward acceleration remains 9.81 m/s².
Read the sign, not just the height
Positive vertical velocity means ascent. Gravity reduces it every step. At the sign change, the body reaches maximum height; the next negative samples are descent. Height alone hides that causal handoff, so the velocity arrow and graph are synchronized.
“It stays up once it gets high enough”
No. Near-zero velocity at the apex is an instant, not equilibrium. Gravity still points downward, so the following samples acquire negative velocity. The model marks the exact zero crossing and continues to ground.
Drag changes the trip, not the rule
Run the same speed with high damping. Cannon-es dissipates more kinetic energy: the peak and return speed fall. But damping never turns gravity off, so the body still descends. This model intentionally omits weapon-specific aerodynamics and injury estimates.
Move the reasoning from the lab to the crowd.
A person says an upward discharge is safe because the object is moving away. What did the simulation establish?
General educational safety content only. This generic projectile model is not ballistics guidance. In an active firearm incident, seek solid cover and distance and contact local emergency services when safe; do not approach or intervene.