However, in an airless vacuum, would the gunpowder ignite?
IDTS, so even if there was mechanical movement on the firing pin, you would have no ignition and the bullet would not move...?
I think even if, as another poster said, the gunpowder was “oxygenated” or there was “oxygenated fuel” because there is no air, there is no ignition, combustion and therefore no thrust in a true vacuum.
As this all relates to space travel, let’s not forget NASA has said they can “no longer go back to the moon”, they no longer have the technology to do so....
very weird.
1. Bullets are sealed, and can fire underwater. Ambient air has no effect on the ignition of the gunpowder from the primer. Air would be trapped inside the casing when it was loaded.
2. Gunpowder contains it's own oxidizer - Potassium Nitrate - KNO3, and thus does not need oxygen from the atmosphere to fire.
Since you enjoy learning science from youtube videos, here are a few that may interest you:
See Through Model Rocket Engine
Note that in the second video, you can see the thrust created by the engine exhaust (reaction mass) as it pushes the engine casing in the opposite direction (Newton's 3rd law).