ELI5-how can a gun pack so much power?
In: Physics
Say we make an air gun. We have a tank we pressurize to 4,000 psi and release it behind the bullet. The pressure pushes the bullet out of the barrel at a certain velocity. Velocity is limited by how much pressure we can put behind the bullet, but the air needs to be fed from some tank, and tanks start getting pretty heavy and bulky when the pressure goes up much more than that.
Guns are the same thing, only the pressure is generated by expanding gases released from the burning of gunpowder. The pressure generated by the gasses varies by cartridge, but a common 9mm pistol will be around 30,000 psi, and a .223 (AR-15) will be around 50,000 psi. That is a whole lot more pressure than an air gun, so the bullet comes out a lot faster. It’s not as bulky because only the chamber around the cartridge itself needs to contain that pressure.
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