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What Would Happen If You Shot a Gun In Space?
Life Little Mysteries ^
| 2/17/2010
| Natalie Wolchover
Posted on 02/25/2012 3:43:56 PM PST by U-238
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To: U-238
One thing that might concern me is that the cartridge case, besides containing gunpowder, also contains a little bit of air. Depending on how much air was in the cartridge, and how firmly the bullet was seated, decompression might result in the bullet partially or completely popping out of the cartridge case, causing a jam in the mechanism.
I decided to do the math before posting: a .38 bullet has a base area of 0.108 square inches. Atmospheric pressure inside the case would be 14.7psi, so the bullet would experience 1.6 pounds of unseating pressure, which shouldn't be an issue with factory rounds.
41
posted on
02/25/2012 4:41:30 PM PST
by
PapaBear3625
(In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - George Orwell)
To: U-238
The only difference between pulling the trigger on Earth and in space is the shape of the resulting smoke trail. In space, "it would be an expanding sphere of smoke from the tip of the barrel," said Peter Schultz an astronomer at Brown University who researches impact craters. I would expect a better analysis from a University astronomer. An expanding sphere? Hardly. The gases and smoke particles produced by the combustion in the weapon are going to expand down the barrel. In so doing they are going to accelerate to a pretty good velocity. (eg. rifles typically a couple thousand fps) upon exiting the barrel there is no atmosphere to slow the gases. The only significant force acting on them is their own molecules pushing on each other. So they will begin to push apart and expand, while still retaining their significant velocity. The resulting smoke trail should resemble a large cone, not a sphere.
42
posted on
02/25/2012 4:43:46 PM PST
by
ThunderSleeps
(Stop obama now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
To: Lazamataz
Might make it hard to do the test if the condition of space itself isn’t conducive to life.
43
posted on
02/25/2012 4:43:46 PM PST
by
dangerdoc
(see post #6)
To: U-238
44
posted on
02/25/2012 4:45:31 PM PST
by
NakedRampage
(Puttin' the "stud" in Bible study)
To: gorush
The bullet will meet the centrifical force of the opposing atmospheric space minus all gravity divided by three with equal maass of the bloated brains of many scientists who think they know so much! Ha!
45
posted on
02/25/2012 4:46:16 PM PST
by
fabian
(" And a new day will dawn for those who stand long, and the forests will echo with laughter")
To: Lazamataz
There certainly is a guarantee that the laws of physics hold everywhere. Ask any astronomer.
46
posted on
02/25/2012 4:46:48 PM PST
by
GAB-1955
(I write books, serve my country, love my wife and daughter, and believe in the Resurrection.)
To: U-238
If John Browning was still around, he would figure out how to make it work and work every time.
47
posted on
02/25/2012 4:49:32 PM PST
by
yarddog
To: cripplecreek
Without Nathan Fillion, it wouldn’t be the same.
48
posted on
02/25/2012 4:49:47 PM PST
by
E. Pluribus Unum
(Government is the religion of the fascists.)
To: E. Pluribus Unum
Its OK because I like cheese.
49
posted on
02/25/2012 4:51:38 PM PST
by
cripplecreek
(What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
To: Lazamataz
There is no guarentee that phsyics, and thusly chemistry, is a constant everywhere in the universe.
Geez, wherever you carried the round, the physics would remain the same for the round since that is something from one part of the universe you're carrying into another part--the physics are inherent in the physical materials of which the round is constructed. Besides, it's called UNI verse for a reason.
50
posted on
02/25/2012 4:52:23 PM PST
by
aruanan
To: GAB-1955
51
posted on
02/25/2012 4:52:36 PM PST
by
Lazamataz
(If unemployment helps the economy, like the W.H. says, then CONTRACTING CANCER MAKES YOU HEALTHIER!)
To: ROCKLOBSTER
“In space, no one can hear you shoot.
You can in the Hollywood part of space.”
Do you ever have to reload in space, or can you just keep banging away like they do in Hollywood?
52
posted on
02/25/2012 4:55:22 PM PST
by
BwanaNdege
(Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address - Gilbert K. Chesterton)
To: mkmensinger
If a man shoots a gun in space and no woman hears it, will he still be wrong?
53
posted on
02/25/2012 5:03:27 PM PST
by
IM2MAD
To: aruanan
Geez, wherever you carried the round, the physics would remain the same for the round since that is something from one part of the universe you're carrying into another part--the physics are inherent in the physical materials of which the round is constructed. Besides, it's called UNI verse for a reason.If physics differed based on spatial location, the materials would behave differently. It's not like you carry a little bit of spatial immunity around!
Besides, the UNIVERSE stands for
Understanding
No
Inclination of
Virtually
Everything to
React the
Same,
Everywhere
Q.E.D.
54
posted on
02/25/2012 5:06:18 PM PST
by
Lazamataz
(If unemployment helps the economy, like the W.H. says, then CONTRACTING CANCER MAKES YOU HEALTHIER!)
To: U-238
my question would be this...
If you fire a 45 in space... the bullet takes off and travels at it’s rated ballistic speed forever. How fast will you travel the opposite way??
55
posted on
02/25/2012 5:08:41 PM PST
by
sit-rep
To: Lazamataz
If physics differed based on spatial location, the materials would behave differently. It's not like you carry a little bit of spatial immunity around!
Yeah, "if," the longest word in the English language. And the evidence that physics could differ based on spatial location as opposed to a qualitatively different environment?
56
posted on
02/25/2012 5:14:50 PM PST
by
aruanan
To: U-238
What Would Happen If You Shot a Gun In Space? Believe it or not, this is a question that I've pondered before.
57
posted on
02/25/2012 5:16:00 PM PST
by
Graybeard58
(Eccl 10 v. 19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.)
To: Lazamataz
"Fires can't burn in the oxygen-free vacuum of space, but guns can shoot. Modern ammunition contains its own oxidizer, a chemical that will trigger the explosion of gunpowder, and thus the firing of a bullet, wherever you are in the universe."BIG assumption. There is no guarentee that phsyics, and thusly chemistry, is a constant everywhere in the universe. All I'd need to do is adjust the Planck Constant just a bit, and the results might be that upon pulling the trigger, Bugs Bunny would peek out the barrel with a little BANG flag, kiss you on the nose, then dive back into the barrel.
Much hilarity ensues.
Holy Black Hole Laz-Man! With that response, I'm guessing you have been hitting the (great?) granddaughters of Einstein and Blanc at the same time.
58
posted on
02/25/2012 5:18:55 PM PST
by
Henchster
(Free Republic - the BEST site on the web!)
To: U-238
Something I have wondered for a long time is this:
Does God work through the laws of physics or can he change them at will?
59
posted on
02/25/2012 5:19:19 PM PST
by
yarddog
To: aruanan
60
posted on
02/25/2012 5:20:26 PM PST
by
Lazamataz
(If unemployment helps the economy, like the W.H. says, then CONTRACTING CANCER MAKES YOU HEALTHIER!)
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