No psych, YOU said an arrow fired upwards will return to earth at the same velocity it was launched with. YOU WERE WRONG. An arrow fired upwards will continue upwards until it's inertia is overcome by gravity. But it will only accelerate back downwards until it hits terminal velocity. Hence, if an arrow is fired upwards at much higher than it's terminal velocity, it will come down with less energy than it left with. EVERY TIME.
And 45/60 is not a 25% reduction in energy, what Ars was talking about. It is closer to his estimate. Ballistics/reloading 101: small increases in velocity equal larger increases in energy. And the inverse as well. It's a 25% reduction in velocity, not energy.
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