On Thursday, November 29, 2001, at 04:32 PM, keyser-soze@hushmail.com wrote:
Have any of the shootingpunks on the list heard of constructing a firearm from something akin to a internal combustion chamber?
H&K was a prime contractor on the "caseless ammunition" system being considered for a bullpup rifle to replace the .223 variants. Fired three flechette-like projectiles, no case. (Cases add weight, and in principle one could dispense with them.) In principle one could also do what you are suggesting, by adding the incendiary ingredient, the oxiding ingredient, and the projectile all separately. I don't see a lot of advantages to this, as then running out of any one of the three means the remaining items are useless deadweight. Makes more sense to combine the three, whether in a conventional cartridge or in the caseless system. That guarantees all three are in equal supply, and in the right stoichiometric ratio, and also allows for better quality control (that is, cartridge makers spend a lot of effort fine-tuning the geometries and mixes). If you mean something that runs on fairly conventional fuel, such as diesel or gasoline or alcohol, t's unlikely that enough muzzle velocity will be achievable in a reasonable-length barrel. I did see a GyroJet pistol once. A rocket pistol, firing little rockets. Early 60s. Very expensive. And suffered from the fact that each little rocket had to accelerate up to speed. Lots of chance for the target to move. Chief advantage was next to no recoil. Which is why rocket designs tend to be used with man-fired heavier pieces, e.g., RPGs, Redeyes, Stingers, etc. --Tim May "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship." --Alexander Fraser Tyler