> Mark Andrew Siefert writes:
@:) Because conventional firearms woundn't operate in a vaccum
Why not? As far as I know bullets work fine in a vacuum. Cartridge propellants
contain their own oxidizers.
As a side note, in the Buck Rogers Battle for the 25th Century computer RPGs,
in which all the characters carry laser pistols and
such, Buck himself has a "Gun" - apparently his vintage 1990s-era
.45. He always seemed a lot more deadly than my laser-pistol guys.
> On Tue, 25 Feb 1997, Joachim Heck - SunSoft wrote:
> Mark Andrew Siefert writes:
OK...I'm sorry. I was working on the assumption that there was no oxidizers in
gun powder. Damnit Jim, I'm a history major...not a chemist.
Later,
> "cthulhu" == <Mark Andrew Siefert> <cthulhu@csd.uwm.edu> writes:
> cthulhu> On Tue, 25 Feb 1997, Joachim Heck - SunSoft wrote:
cthulhu> OK...I'm sorry. I was working on the assumption that there cthulhu>
was no oxidizers in gun powder. Damnit Jim, I'm a history cthulhu> major...not
a chemist.
The trouble with normal bullets in space is that they casue recoil, which
would send the gunman flying in a weightless enviro.
Gygro-jets (what you discribe. Guns firing things more like mini
rockets) were originally developed for a weightless enviroment. They use a
small charge to push the projectile out of the barrel, and then allow the
projectile itself to accelerate toward the target.
The small seperation charge causes much less recoil, and seperates the bullet
from the firer enough that the rocket can take over, and not disrupt the
firer.
I'm not sure how clear that was, but if it wasn't I'm sure I'll get flamed and
have to state myself better.
> On Tue, 25 Feb 1997, Joachim Heck - SunSoft wrote:
> Mark Andrew Siefert writes:
To continue along this, the reason you wouldn't use a normal bullet shooting
gun is recoil. Recoilless rifles or rockets impart much less recoil than a
conventional gun, in space if you fired at a tangent to your axis, the recoil
you slowly cause you to rotate, which could complicate targeting and such. I'm
pretty sure a recoiless system could
be designed where excess backblast from the rocket could be redirected to
counteract the small amount of recoil caused by ejecting the round.
Spinal mount mass drivers wouldn't have to worry as much since all they do is
slow you down slightly, which could be compensated by adding more thrust.