Gun barrel

Gun barrel

:For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers).A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed.

The first guns were made in a time where metallurgy was not advanced enough to cast tubes able to withstand the explosive forces of early cannon, so the pipe (often actually built from staves of metal) needed to be braced periodically along its length, producing an appearance somewhat reminiscent of a storage barrel. ["A History of Warfare" - Keegan, John, Vintage 1993]

Another explanation, tied to etymology, states that many very first firearms barrels were in fact realized, during the 12th and 13th centuries, using small storage barrels with their usual metal rings reinforced by leather, hence the "barrel" name. In fact a set of old French words, some of them staying in modern French, were used as root words for various English terms related to firearms (and storage barrels). The old French "gonne" (pronounced by a French speaker it sounds approximately as "gun" does when pronounced by an English speaker) was a small barrel used on merchant and military ships. Likewise a "baril" was, as early as 1323 (used in "Du Chevalier au barisel"), and remains now, a big barrel. Moreover the big Tun English barrel is, as stated in Ton, the French old and contemporary "tonne" barrel.

Construction

Modern day gun barrels are sophisticated in their construction and makeup. A gun barrel must be able to hold in the expanding gas produced by the propellants to ensure that optimum muzzle velocity is attained by the bullet or shell as it is being pushed out by the expanding gas(es). Early firearms were mostly muzzle loading (loaded from the mouth rather than the breech), which tends to be a slow and complicated procedure, resulting in a low rate of fire. Breech loading provided a higher rate of fire, but early breech loading guns lacked an effective way of sealing the escaping gases that leaked from the back end of the barrel; resulting in a lower muzzle velocity. During the 19th century, effective mechanical locks were invented that allowed loading from the breech while effectively sealing the breech from escaping propellant gases.



legend|#B98888|border=1px solid #000|2=Polygonal

Gun barrels are mostly of metal construction. The early Chinese, the inventors of gunpowder, used bamboo, a naturally tubular wood, as the first barrels in gunpowder projectile weapons. Early European guns were made of wrought iron, usually several bands of the metal arranged around circular wrought iron rings and then welded into a hollow cylinder. The Chinese were the first to master cheap cast-iron cannon barrels. Bronze and brass were favoured by gunsmiths, due to their ease of casting and their ability to resist the corrosion created by the combustion of gunpowder. Modern gun barrels are of nickel and steel alloys, which are made to withstand the tension created by the rapidly expanding gases of the cartridge as well as resist corrosion. As metallurgy advances, barrels can be made smaller and lighter without undermining their strength in holding the explosive gases as the firearm fires. Early cannons were hugely thick for the caliber that they fired. Early manufacturing defects (such as air bubbles trapped in the metal) were key factors in many gun explosions, when the expanding gases became too much for the weak barrel, causing it to rupture and explode in deadly fragments.

mallbore

Generally the term "smallbore" refers to rifles or pistols whose barrel bore diameter is at the small end of the scale (.170" to .399"). Rifles, revolvers and semi-auto pistols in calibre .22 rimfire are popular all over the world for small game hunting and casual target shooting.

ee also

*Rifling
*Polygonal rifling
*Smoothbore
*Slug barrel
*Cannon
*Bore evacuator

References

External links

* [http://www.metaltekkimya.com.tr/eng/barrel_cleaner_eng.htm Gun Barrel Cleaners]
* [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080323154203AAm3tzi Chrome lined gun barrels]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gun barrel — Gun Gun (g[u^]n), n. [OE. gonne, gunne; of uncertain origin; cf. Ir., Gael., & LL. gunna, W. gum; possibly (like cannon) fr. L. canna reed, tube; or abbreviated fr. OF. mangonnel, E. mangonel, a machine for hurling stones.] 1. A weapon which… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gun barrel — noun a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑barrel • Hypernyms: ↑tube, ↑tubing • Part Holonyms: ↑gun * * * gun barrel …   Useful english dictionary

  • Gun Barrel City (Texas) — Gun Barrel City Ciudad de los Estados Unidos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gun Barrel City — Gun Barrel City, TX U.S. town in Texas Population (2000): 5145 Housing Units (2000): 2736 Land area (2000): 5.142506 sq. miles (13.319030 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.054398 sq. miles (0.140891 sq. km) Total area (2000): 5.196904 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Gun Barrel City, TX — U.S. town in Texas Population (2000): 5145 Housing Units (2000): 2736 Land area (2000): 5.142506 sq. miles (13.319030 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.054398 sq. miles (0.140891 sq. km) Total area (2000): 5.196904 sq. miles (13.459921 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Gun Barrel City, Texas — Infobox Settlement official name = Gun Barrel City, Texas settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250px map caption = Location of Gun Barrel City, Texas mapsize1 =250px map caption1 = subdivision type …   Wikipedia

  • Gun Barrel City — Original name in latin Gun Barrel City Name in other language State code US Continent/City America/Chicago longitude 32.33459 latitude 96.15136 altitude 117 Population 5672 Date 2011 05 14 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • gun barrel — metal tube of a gun through which bullets are fired …   English contemporary dictionary

  • James Bond gun barrel sequence — The James Bond gun barrel sequence is the traditional opening to every official (EON Productions) James Bond movie, beginning with the first film, Dr. No , in 1962. The sequence is Maurice Binder s creation; he originally filmed it with a pin… …   Wikipedia

  • Séquence du Gun Barrel de James Bond — La séquence du Gun Barrel est le dispositif de signature qui ouvre la plupart des films James Bond. Il représente une cible dans laquelle 007 marche de profil jusqu au centre de celle ci avant de se tourner vers l assassin, tirer et voir le sang… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”