Posted on 02/25/2012 3:43:56 PM PST by U-238
Fires can't burn in the oxygen-free vacuum of space, but guns can shoot. 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. No atmospheric oxygen required.
The only difference between pulling the trigger on Earth and in space is the shape of the resulting smoke trail. In space, "it would be an expanding sphere of smoke from the tip of the barrel," said Peter Schultz an astronomer at Brown University who researches impact craters.
The possibility of gunfire in space allows for all kinds of absurd scenarios.
Imagine you're floating freely in the vacuum between galaxies — just you, your gun and a single bullet. You have two options. You either can spend all of eternity trying to figure out how you got there, or you can shoot the damn cosmos.
If you do the latter, Newton's third law dictates that the force exerted on the bullet will impart an equal and opposite force on the gun, and, because you're holding the gun, you. With very few intergalactic atoms against which to brace yourself, you'll start moving backward (not that you’d have any way of knowing). If the bullet leaves the gun barrel at 1,000 meters per second, you — because you're much more massive than it is — will head the other way at only a few centimeters per second.
Once shot, the bullet will keep going, quite literally, forever. "The bullet will never stop, because the universe is expanding faster than the bullet can catch up with any serious amount of mass" to slow it down, said Matija Cuk, an astronomer with joint appointments at Harvard University and the SETI Institute.
(Excerpt) Read more at lifeslittlemysteries.com ...
P=(NrT)/V
Eh, so you are saying that Star Wars was a big lie!? I think not! /s
Yes. He can, and He does. And when He does, we call it a “miracle”...
Maybe we can use that to track down what part of the universe politicians are from...
OK, that’s bad. Important safety tip; thanks, Egon.
(IIRC)
The Firefly episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" was the one which gave a good, realistic depiction of firing a rifle in space. Of course, the depiction of Christina Hendricks' guns was even better... /g
I must be the only guy in Sci-Fi fandom who has not seen Firefly
You really should treat yourself and watch it, and the movie Serenity which was based on it. It was outstandingly good, and therefore doomed to early cancellation by the great minds at Fox network... /sarc
I will check it out and see if Netflix carrys the DVD or there is a episode available on You Tube. Now, I am very anxious to see it.
I you were in orbit at 17.5k mph and you shot a bullet at 700 mph, you could not achieve escape velocity (25k mph). The bullet would still be in orbit, only it would be an elliptical orbit. Since your orbit would intersect the bullet’s orbit, it is possible the bullet could hit you eventually.
I believe Netflix has it on both streaming and DVD.
Great. Thanks for introducing me into the show.
Even mnore interesting would be the physics involved if said small, low gravity planetoid were toroidal...
the infowarrior
Oh my ZOG!!! Do you know when *I* last heard that song? It was circa 1960-61 when I was in first grade. It was part of a play we put on, and that particular song was my part, which is why I remember it still, although it has been half a century since...
the infowarrior
Nope, at least two of us, although I rarely watch television at all...
the infowarrior
I do not watch television either.
Unfortunately, Laz, you ignored a key part of aruanan’s argument, which is your downfall here.
>>Besides, it’s called UNI verse for a reason.
Peter Noone covered this well when he asserted “Second verse, same as the first.” In other words, any other part of the verse would be the same as the first (uni) one, therefore no change in the physics.
Q.E.D. indeed!
Peter Noone has bested me.
i’ll make it easier on ya... the gun is a revolver! :)
Yes. Since the casing is ejected (more or less) sideways, it would act as a torque on the shooter to increase his angular momentum (that is, he would start spinning).
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