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Gun Silencer
How Does A Small Metal
Pipe On The Barrel Silence A Gun?
Ashish
Covert operatives and spies, especially those
they show in movies, are always equipped with a handful of important tools that
they carry everywhere.
A gun, as you might expect, is the single
most important part of their ‘go-bags’, but many agents and spies, if not all,
like to carry another accessory that ensures privacy.
In the covert business, not making an
auditory signature when you fire a weapon is important, so gun silencers are
popular add-ons for certain gun users.
You have certainly seen these in plenty of
movies, but now let’s look at how a gun silencer actually works.
What is a Gun Suppressor?
Everyone already knows that there is a loud
bang when a gun is fired (For more information, read Why Do Guns Make So Much
Noise?), but that isn’t always desirable in certain situations.
A suppressor (also referred to as gun
silencer or sound moderator) is a device that attaches to the end of the barrel
of a firearm and reduces the amount of visible muzzle flash and sound produced
by firing the weapon.
It’s important to note that it does not
entirely mute the sound of the firearm; that cannot happen under regular
conditions.
What it does is significantly reduce the
sound when a bullet is fired, and therefore you hear quite a softer sound
rather than a loud bang.
How Does a Gun Suppressor Work?
A suppressor, typically cylindrical in shape,
is usually a hollow metal tube made of steel, titanium or aluminum.
It consists of expansion chambers, which are
actually the functional part of the accessory.
To fire a bullet, you just have to pull the
trigger, but a lot goes on inside the gun to make the bullet speed at your
target at such a high speed.
When you pull the trigger, gunpowder is
ignited behind the bullet, which creates a high-pressure pulse of hot gas.
This is the extreme pressure that makes the
bullet fly down the barrel at such a high speed.
The moment the bullet exits the barrel, the
high-pressure gas pulse expands out of the muzzle, producing a loud noise.
But what if you somehow allow the gas to
expand within the barrel?
This is precisely what a suppressor does. It
attaches to the barrel, adding a few inches of length to the end.
Its volume is also huge; roughly 30 times
more voluminous than the barrel.
Furthermore, it has expansion chambers, which
allow the high-pressure gas to expand through the series of chambers.
As a result, the gas that comes out of the
end of the suppressor is considerably expanded and has a significantly lower
pressure.
For that reason, the sound is suppressed, so
the gunshot is much softer.
Gun suppressors are a common sight in spy
movies
However, there is still some release of
pressurized gas; therefore, the firing of a gun is not absolutely muted, even
when using a suppressor.
Also, note that the boom you hear when a
bullet is fired is not the only audible sound associated with firing a gun.
There is also the sonic boom of the bullet,
which cannot be suppressed by a suppressor.
Still, a gun suppressor is an immensely
helpful accessory, especially for covert field operations.
Now, the next time you see 007 carrying a
revolver with a rather long accessory at the end, you’ll know he’s preparing
for some silent shooting!
Ashish is a
Science graduate (Bachelor of Science) from Punjabi University (India). He
spends a lot of time watching movies, and an awful lot more time discussing
them. He likes Harry Potter and the Avengers, and obsesses over how thoroughly
Science dictates every aspect of life… in this universe, at least.
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