Firing A Gun In Space

Firing a gun in space isn t all that far fetched as russian cosmonauts are sent into space with a gun in case it is needed for survival after landing on earth in a treacherous region.

Firing a gun in space. 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. Many of the world s greatest science fiction films depict massive battles in outer space between starships and even the actors themselves and while much of this takes place in the form of laser blasters or cannons as opposed older black powder muskets or modern semiautomatic pistols and rifles it still begs the question about what would happen if someone tried to fire a modern day gun in. 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. 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. Well it would simply drift into the blackness forever alone while the galaxies around it sped further away.

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