If a gun was in a cold enough environment, could it fail to fire?

[her209]

Could it fail to fire because the heat generated by the "bang" gets dissipated too quickly into the surroundings (air, gun, etc.)?

 

[Ronstang]

If that was possible it would be so cold there would not only be no one around to fire it there would be no one to shoot.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Doubtful but, the gun could shatter from the round going off.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This is something for mythbusters.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

At absolute zero all molecular motion stops, so yes.

 

[Kelvrick]

Is the environment devoid of moisture? If anything, the temperature could harden the primer to the point where the hammer strike would not ignite it or the action would freeze/break before anything like you're suggesting.

The reaction from the gunpowder being ignited creates gasses that propel the bullet, so the temperature itself wouldn't have too much to do with it.

 

[Turin39789]

yes

 

[MarkXIX]

Depends. Is it direct gas or piston?

 

[Matthiasa]

At absolute zero all molecular motion stops, so yes.

To bad nothing can ever reach absolute zero.
And that doesn't change the fact that there is still chemical energy in the round where impact would be enough to cause motion to ignite.
That motion would also bring it above zero as well since no mechanical part has zero friction.

 

[Pocatello]

Let ask some surviving German soldiers who fought in Russia during the winter.

 

[OverVolt]

It would have to be pretty close to absolute zero and I'm pretty sure out of all the inventions we have a gun would be one of the few to work at pretty low temperatures compared to others. You'd probably have more problems with a car at that temp than with a gun at 100K etc.

 

[FoBoT]

if the gun is cold, the ammo is also cold?
http://youtu.be/csRFEGBYpm0
Frozen Remington Ammo/Ammunition Experiment by FirearmPop

 

[Bignate603]

The only mechanism I can think of that would prevent the gun from firing is if the temperature dipped below some point where the chemical reactions couldn't occur normally.

 

[RavenSEAL]

The only mechanism I can think of that would prevent the gun from firing is if the temperature dipped below some point where the chemical reactions couldn't occur normally.

This

 

[gorobei]

they had a discovery special on the russians and germans at the siege of stalingrad, the main concern wasnt failures to fire but the actions of the rifles locking up and not cycling. the russians used diesel fuel and alcohol (i think) to lubricate the actions, while the germans used normal oil.
they did a test with some mausers and nagants in a freezer with the various formulas. the rifles would fire just fine but the bolt actions locked up when the oil congealed. the diesel concoction cycled just fine.

so assuming you are talking about earth environments, no there is no problem with ignition.

 

[IAteYourMother]

no.. air doesn't absorb heat fast enough.

 

[OCGuy]

If "gun" is a euphemism for my penis, and "fire" is a euphemism for ejaculate and/or urinate, the answer is yes.

 

[Lemon law]

Another factor can be too viscous an oil and a too weak a spring driving the firing pin. Fail to dent the primer and you get no bang.

A blast from the past from some 1960's gun magazine I read.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

they had a discovery special on the russians and germans at the siege of stalingrad, the main concern wasnt failures to fire but the actions of the rifles locking up and not cycling. the russians used diesel fuel and vodka (i think) to lubricate the actions, while the germans used normal oil.
they did a test with some mausers and nagants in a freezer with the various formulas. the rifles would fire just fine but the bolt actions locked up when the oil congealed. the diesel concoction cycled just fine.

so assuming you are talking about earth environments, no there is no problem with ignition.

FTFY

 

[BladeVenom]

The oils/grease can freeze causing a malfunction. The way to handle this is to oil the gun, and then wipe it down good.

 

[JTsyo]

no.. air doesn't absorb heat fast enough.

this. The bullet is gone in a few milliseconds, there's not enough time for the heat to get sucked out.

Consider the thermal conductivity coefficient of steel is about 43 W/(m*C).

 

[WelshBloke]

If it was near absolute zero wouldnt you be standing in a vacuum (as well as being a bit chilly), so as was said earlier, firing the gun would be the least of your worries.

 

[Merad]

I don't think any environment on earth is cold enough to affect the chemical reaction in the primer or powder. But they can easily have problems with lubricants freezing so the action won't cycle after the first shot.

 

[olds]

Depends. Is it direct gas or piston?

Revolver

 

[Saint Nick]

If "gun" is a euphemism for my penis, and "fire" is a euphemism for ejaculate and/or urinate, the answer is yes.

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