Can Recoil on a Wheel Replicate Regular Guns?

[robhlee]

I am trying to remember the rumor I heard about a new gun shooting design in one of my ap physics class discussions, do you guys now of any new breakthrough designs?

anyway i think it has to do with the reloading mechanism. (I know I have asked a question of this type before, so if i sound stupid, please bear with me and at least just answer my question) If the recoil of a shooting bullet were to exert force on a wheel, would the result be EXACTLY the same as a regular gun? thanks for reading

 

[cristo]

What do you mean by "exert a force on a wheel"? What wheel are you talking about? You will have to be more specific!

 

[cesiumfrog]

Recoil exerting force on a wheel? Sounds like a just an old semi-automatic revolver. A newer idea is something like electronic triggering (think the product is called metal storm), or electromagnetic firing (like the railguns intended for Navy vessels).

 

[Danger]

Actually, I'm rather worried that he's referring to some stupid thing that we spent 20 pages debunking in one of the engineering threads. I can't even remember what it's called, but we determined that it would have to be powered by a jet engine and would tear itself to pieces within a couple of seconds.

 

[robhlee]

to cesiumfrog: Well, I am not asking about the actual performance of the shot, just the reloading process. If you think of the revolver as perpendicular (bullet--reloader wheel), I am trying to ask about a parallel design so that the bullet recoil is oriented on the finned wheel in such a way that its recoil will spin it.

to Danger: jet engine? tear itself to pieces? eh? It was actually related to a question I had in this same section, Classical Physics. What is your tennis court quote referencing?

 

[Danger]

I found the thing; it's called DREAD. Here you go: https://www.physicsforums.com/showt...n+spinning+disk+jet+engine+cnetrifugal+force"

The signature quote refers to the time I parked a Cessna 150 in somebody's back yard. (It was a big yard.)

 

[cesiumfrog]

A very practical "electric gun" I've seen involved a rotor sandwiched between engraved tracks. Once it spins up, ball bearings introduced near the axis are flung out and hence fired forward. But the design has intrinsic problems: necessarilly spherical projectiles (the aerodynamics of which will limit accuracy) and an effective flywheel (difficulty reorientating a spinning gyroscope will further limit aiming). The DREAD thing looks similar at first glance.