Weapon Projectiles: 1. What Is A Gun?

1. What is a gun?
A gun is
normally
tubular weapon or
other
device
designed
to
discharge projectiles or other material.The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas

or energy and may be free, as with bullets and artillery shells, or captive as
with Taser probes and whaling harpoons. The means of projection varies
according to design but is usually effected by the action of gas pressure,
either produced through the rapid combustion of a propellant or compressed
and stored by mechanical means, operating on the projectile inside an openended tube in the fashion of a piston. The confined gas accelerates the
movable projectile down the length of the tube imparting sufficient velocity
to sustain the projectile's travel once the action of the gas ceases at the end
of the tube or muzzle. Alternatively, acceleration via electromagnetic field
generation may be employed in which case the tube may be dispensed with
and a guide rail substituted.
2. The history and development of guns

History of Firearms
For millenia man has been fascinated with the idea of launching a
projectile at animals--or men of opposing points of view--and has developed
more efficient ways of doing so.
The invention of gunpowder led to the development of firearms.

Gunpowder first appeared in use in China over a thousand years ago,
but was used primarily in firecrackers and only sparingly in weapons
for military use.
Dissemination of the knowledge of gunpowder manufacture to Europe

in the 14th century did not at first lead to military usage.
However, once the effectiveness of projectiles impelled by the force of

gunpowder against both the armor of knight-soldiers and fortifications
was known, the use of firearms proliferated rapidly.
Gunpowder, made of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter

(potassium nitrite), owes its explosive force to the fact that 1 mole of solid
powder will, when ignited, produce 6 moles of gas. This rapid expansion in
the enclosed space of a metal tube could be used to drive a projectile at high
speed in a specified direction. Modern gunpowder is simply a refined version
of the primitive substance in which the chemical composition has been
altered to provide the greatest expansion with the smallest quantity and the
least residue. The manufacture of modern powders is standardized enough
that gunpowder residue can be analyzed by methods which identify specific
components, which can aid the forensic scientist greatly. We will enlarge
upon this subject later on.
The greatest stimulus for firearms development was and continues to be
military usage. The important needs, militarily speaking, for a firearm
included the following: reliability of firing, accuracy of projectile, force of
projectile, speed of firing. The reliability issue sparked the development of a
number of mechanisms to ignite the powder.
Firing mechanisms developed included:
Matchlock: Primitive matchlock weapons employed a burning wick on a

spring that was "locked" back and released into a pan of powder upon
pulling a trigger. The powder in the pan then ignited, sending flame
through a small hole into the barrel chamber of the weapon, igniting a
larger powder charge in the chamber and sending the projectile
(bullet) forward.
Wheellock: In the early 16th century, mprovements included the

wheellock mechanism in which a spinning wheel against a metal plate
showered sparks into the "pan" holding "priming" powder.
Flintlock: The flintlock developed in the yearly 17th centuryhas a flint

was released by the trigger mechanism that strikes a steel plate to
shower sparks into the pan filled with powder.
Percussion: The "percussion" ignition mechanism evolved next in the

19th century and consisted of a "hammer" that was locked and, when
released, struck a cap containing a volatile "primer" that ignited on
impact, sending a flame through a small tube into the barrel chamber.
Next, inventors combined the individual components including the bullet,

powder charge, and primer all in a single cartridge which could be introduced
directly into the chamber. Up to that point, "muzzle loaders" had the powder
and bullet loaded from the top of the barrel. These weapons had a "smooth
bore" with a round lead ball, both of which limited range and accuracy.
The accuracy issue was partially solved by using weapons with a longer
"bore" or length of metal tube, but there was always a limit to the size of
weapon you could carry around. In the 18th century, gunsmiths discovered
that putting spiral grooves in the bore would impart a spin to the bullet that
improved accuracy markedly. However, grooves had originally been cut to
reduce the problem of "fouling" from unburned powder residue. Thus, all
modern weapons have "rifling" in their barrels.
Accuracy improved with the use of rifling - metal lands and grooves with a
twist inside the barrel of the gun. The bullet gripped the rifling that imparted
a spin to the bullet as it traversed the barrel. The spinning bullet that left the
barrel had more stability with less tumbling in flight. This produced a more
consistent and longer flight path. Thus, accuracy and range improved.
This rifling is slightly different for each weapon, imparting different
patterns of deformation on the bullet. These patterns can be used by the
forensic scientist to aid identification of a particular weapon used in a crime.
The "breechloading" firearms developed in the late 19th century led to

another advantage--speed of loading. Further improvements consisted of
multiple chambers, as in the revolver, for multiple shots. Other mechanisms
included various "actions" associated with sliding or pumping motions that
loaded successive cartridges into the chamber--the so-called "repeating

rifle." Toward the end of the 19th century, inventors like Henry Maxim and
Richard Gatling devised schemes for rapidly firing large numbers of "rounds"
or cartridges without stopping, thus developing the "machine gun."
Machine guns firing multiple bullets were developed in the late 19th
century and were refined in World Wars I and II. Modern assault weapons
used by armies around the world utilize a mechanism in which the expanding
gasses of the gunpowder provide the force for cycling the mechanism to
shoot multiple rounds--up to 600 rounds per minute.
The force of a projectile is related to the kinetic energy (KE) imparted to it,
given by the formula:
Kinetic Energy =
MV2, where:
M=Mass
V=Velocity
Historically, KE has been enhanced in two ways:
The first way the KE was enhanced was increasing the "caliber" of the
weapon. Caliber refers to the diameter of the bore of the barrel, given
in decimal fractions of an inch or, in metric systems, in millimeters.
Thus, a handgun or rifle could be referred to as .45 cal or .38 cal
(called 45 caliber or 38 caliber) or 9mm.
The second way modern weapons increase KE is through velocity, as

impelled
by
modern
gunpowder,
which
increases
the
force
tremendously because it increases KE as a square of any increment of

improvement in velocity.
Velocities of bullets increased with the use of a "jacket" of a metal such as

copper or copper alloys that covered a lead core and allowed the bullet to
glide down the barrel more easily than exposed lead. Such bullets are
designated as "full metal jacket" (FMJ). Such FMJ bullets are less likely to
fragment on impact and are more likely to traverse through a target while
imparting less energy. Hence, FMJ bullets impart less tissue damage than
non-jacketed bullets that expand. (Dougherty and Eidt, 2009) This led to
their adoption for military use by countries adhering to the Hague
Convention in 1899.
3. The mechanism of guns

The Blowback System
A blowback system is something like a recoil system, except that the barrel is
fixed in the gun housing, and the barrel and bolt don't lock together. You can see
how this mechanism works in the diagram below.
This gun has a sliding bolt (3) held in place by a spring-driven cartridge
magazine (5), and a trigger mechanism (1). When you slide the bolt back,
the trigger sear (2) holds it in place. When you pull the trigger, the sear
releases the bolt, and the spring drives it forward. After the bolt chambers
the cartridge, the firing pin sets off the primer, which ignites the propellant.
The explosive gas from the cartridge drives the bullet down the barrel.
At the same time, the gas pressure pushes in the opposite direction, forcing
the bolt backward. As in the recoil system, an extractor pulls the shell out of
the barrel, and the ejector forces it out of the gun. A new cartridge lines up in
front of the bolt just before the spring pushes the bolt forward, starting the
process all over again. This continues as long as you hold the trigger down
and there's ammunition feeding into the system.
The Blowback Mechanism
The Gas System
The gas system is similar to the blowback system, but it has some
additional pieces. The main addition is a narrow piston attached to the bolt,
which slides back and forth in a cylinder positioned above the gun barrel. You
can see how this system works in the diagram below.
This gun is basically the same as one using the blowback system, but
the rear force of the explosion doesn't propel the bolt backward. Instead, the
forward gas pressure pushes the bolt back. When the bolt swings forward to
fire a cartridge, it locks onto the barrel. Once the bullet makes its way down
the barrel, the expanding gases can bleed into the cylinder above the barrel.
This gas pressure pushes the piston backward, moving it along the bottom of
the bolt. The sliding piston first unlocks the bolt from the barrel, and then
pushes the bolt back so a new cartridge can enter the breech.
The diagrams we've presented only depict particular examples of how
these systems work. There are hundreds of machine gun models in
existence, each with its own specific firing mechanism. These guns differ in a
number of other ways as well. In the next two sections, we'll look at some of
the key differences between various machine gun models.
The Gas Mechanism
The Gas Mechanism
4. How does silencer works on gun?

Gun silencers actually work on a very simple principle. Imagine a
balloon, if you pop a balloon with a pin, it will make a loud noise. But if you
were to untie the end of the balloon and let the air out slowly, you could pop
it making very little noise. That is the basic idea behind a gun silencer.
To fire a bullet from a gun, gunpowder is ignited behind thebullet. The
gunpowder creates a high-pressure pulse of hot gas. The pressure of the gas
forces the bullet down the barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the end of
the barrel, it is like uncorking a bottle. The pressure behind the bullet is
immense, however -- on the order of 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi) -- so
the POP that the gun makes as it is uncorked is extremely loud.
A silencer screws on to the end of the barrel and has a huge
volume compared to the barrel (20 or 30 times greater). With the silencer in
place, the pressurized gas behind the bullet has a big space to expand into.
So the pressure of the hot gas falls significantly. When the bullet finally exits
through the hole in the silencer, the pressure being uncorked is much, much
lower -- perhaps 60 psi. Therefore, the sound of the gun firing is much softer.
Several alert readers have written to point out that a bullet that travels
at supersonic speeds cannot be silenced because the bullet creates its own
little sonic boom as it travels. Many high-powered loads travel at supersonic
speeds. The silencer can remove the "uncorking" sound, but not the sound of
the bullet's flight.
Source :
http://science.howstuffworks.com/machine-gun.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question112.htm
http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNHIST.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun

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How does a gun work?

How does a gun work?

Describe the history of different firing mechanisms used in guns.

Describe the history of different firing mechanisms used in guns.

1. What is a gun?

discharge projectiles or other material.The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas

2. The history and development of guns

The invention of gunpowder led to the development of firearms.

Dissemination of the knowledge of gunpowder manufacture to Europe

However, once the effectiveness of projectiles impelled by the force of

Gunpowder, made of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter

Matchlock: Primitive matchlock weapons employed a burning wick on a

Wheellock: In the early 16th century, mprovements included the

Flintlock: The flintlock developed in the yearly 17th centuryhas a flint

Percussion: The "percussion" ignition mechanism evolved next in the

Next, inventors combined the individual components including the bullet,

The "breechloading" firearms developed in the late 19th century led to

loaded successive cartridges into the chamber--the so-called "repeating

The second way modern weapons increase KE is through velocity, as

tremendously because it increases KE as a square of any increment of

Velocities of bullets increased with the use of a "jacket" of a metal such as

3. The mechanism of guns

The Blowback Mechanism

The Gas System

The Gas Mechanism

The Gas Mechanism

4. How does silencer works on gun?

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