Just wondering........If you could shoot a gun on the moon......

[Aquaman]

As I sit at my computer trying to get over the flu.........

I was wondering............ if you could shoot a gun on the moon, how effective would it be? I figure the bullet would move faster because there is less friction & gravity but would it be as deadly because the force of the projectile would also be less because of the gravity

Hmmmmmmmmm

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[ManSnake]

I have a friend, his friend's friend's friend knows the answer!

 

[glenn1]

only one problem with your question... you would need oxygen to make the powder in your cartridges ignite and burn.... no air = problem. It would be the same as firing your gun underwater.

 

[Valhalla1]

uhh yeah, didn't you get that memo?


I figure it would be just as deadly, tavel even faster.. but perhaps the aim would be off since it would escape the pull of the moon's gravity and the curvature of the moon is more evident due to its smaller mass, thus the bullet would always traject above the line of aim to the orginal target.

go ask a physics major.

 

[konichiwa]

No oxygen = no fire = no gunpowder

 

[Jumpem]

Due to the lack of oxygen, I don't think the primer/powder would ignite, and therefore the gun would not fire.

But if we overlook that, the person firing the gun would have an opposite force pulling him back and the bullet would go forward. The recoil would be what forces him back in a zero gravity enviornment. I'm not sure about the impact forces though? I think it would do less damage, since as it strikes it's target, the target would be forced backwards due to the lack of gravity.

 

[Valhalla1]

<< only one problem with your question... you would need oxygen to make the powder in your cartridges ignite and burn.... no air = problem. It would be the same as firing your gun underwater. >>



dammit someone's always got to ruin the physics argument.

 

[Aquaman]

If you read in the title.......... I said if you could shoot a gun

I know you can't because of the oxygen thing

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[ApacheXMD]

answer
yall forget the oxidizing agent is in the gunpowder, gaseous O2 isn't required.

-patchy

 

[UG]

Come on, guys. Where's that thinking cap?

The chemical reactions ensuing within the cartridge itself provide all the oxygen necessary for combustion and the resulting gas pressure required to push that lead pellet out the barrel really, really fast -- just like on Earth.

A cartridge works in a vacuum equally as effectively as in a nitrogen/oxyen atmosphere.

 

[Aquaman]

Well........ ya learn something new everyday

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[DRGrim]

The force of gravity does not affect the projectile, at least the way you were talking about it. More force would go into the reaction then on earth, so it would probibly even out in the end. The curvature of the moon has nothing to do with it. You wouldn't even notice it, so aiming above would not acomplish anything. If anything, your aim would be more precice because the bullit would fall 1/6 as fast. One sixth of 33 feet per second per second is... I don't know.
I havn't taken physics yet. Am I doing good so far?

 

[glenn1]

hmmm... i didn't know that either. i guess my team coulda gone on a &quot;spaceborne&quot; mission had we but known

 

[Handle]

I don't believe the bullet would move faster if shot horizontally... gravity does not retard motion horizontally and the reduced friction (drag in this case) will cause the bullet to get slower slower, but it will not really help it attain a faster top speed.

As was mentioned, the recoil in this case would be higher too because of the low gravity environment. Imagine taking a cannon, making sure it's wheels are smooth, and putting it on ice. Then fire a cannonball. In the end, the cannon will move very far back, absorbing the energy which is supposed to be taken by the projectile.

 

[soapdish]

As I side note, for the &quot;gun-enthusiast&quot; out there.


The CIA (I think it was them) developed a rocket powered gun during the 60's, just in case war went into space. In a zero-g environment, firing a gun would cause the astronaut to spin on his axis uncontrollably when fired. A rocket powered bullet removed him from the equation. You can still purchase rocket powered guns/bullets today. The solid propellant is expensive though.

 

[Pretender]

It wouldn't move much faster because of the lack of gravity, but the lack of air would mean no air resistance, so that would mean the bullet would be faster. Other then that, aiming wouldn't be much different...the crosshairs on the gun only take into effect a downward acceleration of 9.8m/s^2, and considering the bullet would be airborne for much less then 1 second, gravity, or lack thereof, would probably have little effect.

 

[AndrewR]

Damage to the target would be the same because inertia is not overcome so quickly as to affect it.

 

I'll bet the muzzle velocity of the bullet would be only a bit more than on earth, because the air resistance isn't a major factor through the barrel of the gun. Aero drag and gravity affect it more in it's trajectory. So I would guess it would go about the same speed, but be able to go alot further because it wouldn't be slowed down as fast.

UG's got it right with the O2. How do you think rockets work in space, jeez!

 

[glenn1]

i thought rockets worked in space because they brought their own oxygen with them... different fuel than modern smokeless powder i should think...

 

[Valhalla1]

okay, enough arguing..

lets just tie up al gore, drag is whiney ass to the moon, and break out the sawed-off