Can You Fire A Gun In Space

Modern ammunition contains its own oxidizer a chemical that will trigger the.

Can you fire a gun in space. Fires can t burn in the oxygen free vacuum of space but guns can shoot. The cartridge does not allow the air to enter when properly packed hence the chance of premature popping out of the bullet cartridge in space is also out the window. Direct sunlight might make the gun hot enough for the ammunition to explode spontaneously whereas a gun kept in the shade would eventually become so cold that the primer in the firing cap might not go.

Those galaxies are travelling at around 200km s 124 miles sec as the universe expands whereas a travelling bullet can reach speeds of only 1km s 0 62 mile sec. The gun the soviets fired in space wasn t a handg u n but was in fact a cannon that was based on the design for a cannon that had been used in a soviet bomber. What about firing a gun out in the middle of space.

The necessary oxidizer required to ignite the gunpowder is also self contained which means there is no reason for a gun to not fire in space. Modern ammunition contains its own oxidizer a chemical that will trigger the explosion of gunpowder and thus the firing of a bullet wherever you are in the universe. In addition to there being no sound in space there is also no oxygen which is required to create and sustain any kind of fire.

No atmospheric oxygen required. In the worst case scenario if the gun was fired from near the astronaut s head the astronaut might end up rotating about once every 3 minutes which could be easily corrected by the thrusters the. Well it would simply drift into the blackness forever alone while the galaxies around it sped further away.

By natalie wolchover february 22 2012 fires can t burn in the oxygen free vacuum of space but guns can shoot. Bullets carry their own oxidising agent in the explosive of the cartridge which is sealed anyway so there s no need for atmospheric oxygen to ignite the propellant.