Ned Fleming (ned@cjnetworks.com)
Sat, 03 Jul 1999 01:56:35 GMT
Etienne Borgers wrote:
>Maybe I'm missing something about new weapons,
but
>otherwise I think it will not fire, as
gunpowder
>needs air(oxygen in fact) to burn (and I doubt
that
>oygen normally *dissolved* and present in water
is
>sufficient for that effect?)
All conventional guns (guns with firing pins) will fire
underwater. Whether or not the cartridge will ignite is
another matter. Assuming your powder is dry -- that there is
an air-tight crimp between the bullet and cartridge, and an
air-tight bond between the primer and the cartridge -- then,
yes, the bullet will fire. There's plenty of oxygen in the
nitro-cellulose (the gun powder) itself to propel the bullet.
If you get water inside the cartridge, then all bets are off.
I have no idea how far a bullet will travel in water. It
depends on caliber, charge, bullet configuration, length of
barrel, etc. In other words, it's a matter of physics and
dull, dull, dull study.
There is, of course, a vast difference between the ignition
of powder from a primer in a cartridge (which is a
controlled, fast burn) and the detonation of an
explosion.
You might be interested to know, Paul Harvey said a few weeks
ago in his lunch time report, a lawn mower can eject a
projectile at three times the velocity of a .357 magnum
handgun. Bottom line: don't mow under water . . . unless
you're pulling a job. Peter Walker may have additional
information and opinions.
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