Google doesn’t want to give me an answer and I really want to know. Thanks!
In: Engineering
It depends. There are lots of different designs that make a round better at penetrating armor. They vary depending on the size of the round, the cost of the round and the type of gun and type of armor. In general armor piercing rounds are heavier but narrower. This helps put as much energy into a tiny area as possible. For example a 105mm armor piecing tank round might only be 50mm in diameter but made out of depleted uranium or tungsten. The tip of the round is also hardened and might even have a cap which help break up the armor before the main body of the round hits it.
Then there are shaped charges which work completely differently. Instead of relying on mass and speed to concentrate the energy it have an explosive charge that is aimed at a single point. By focusing the blast at a tiny point on the armor it can destroy the armor in that spot and do damage to the inside.
There are lots of other techniques which can be used to make armor piercing rounds. If you look up the available ammunition for any particular gun you will see a list of different armor piercing rounds. The term is a generalization of these types, often used for practical reasons while in the field.
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