Questions tagged [guns]

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3 answers
113 views

Which firearms should a group of people time-travelling with the intent to conquer carry if it's a one way trip on a ship [closed]

So, recently I've been recently reading Chinese web novels where a group of people travel to the past in a ship. Some of these novels have travelers' ships stranded in time while others find a portal ...
City Lord's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
2k views

I cast spark! Or, Design of preindustrial firearms when people can cast spark

So, in this fantasy preindustrial world almost everyone can cast small spells like spark within a one meter radius from their mouth. Taking that into account, igniting mechanisms like matchlocks or ...
Rhomaioi's user avatar
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7 votes
7 answers
3k views

How would a 4-armed, blind species,use firearms?

My blind, intelligent species has advanced technologically to the stage of space exploration through the usage of FTL travel. The reason for their blindness is evolving underground, after the surface ...
Fedor Scheglov's user avatar
21 votes
14 answers
7k views

If humans had no access to gunpowder, what else would they use to power guns?

In my setting there's a lack of sulfur, simply put. Don't ask for the specifications, just assume that whatever amount there is, it is likely better off used in dietary supplements for the shortage of ...
Quinn's user avatar
  • 1,146
10 votes
9 answers
4k views

Would it be possible for modern firearms, such as an AR-15, of any variation to survive an apocalypse?

German here. I have essentially no idea of the working of guns. I've been on a bit of a Zombie/Apocalypse trip lately. Watching the walking dead, playing fallout blablabla. I'll stick to the example ...
fireflower's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
137 views

What man or crew sized weapons should my infantry bring into an area where electricity doesn't work to help breakup trench warfare? [closed]

I have an area with highly valuable resources that is highly contested over. The only issue is that the moment someone enters the area, all electronics regardless of type stop working. As such only ...
FIRES_ICE's user avatar
  • 2,963
12 votes
6 answers
3k views

How can I make combination weapons widespread in my world?

I'm writing a low fantasy fiction in a XVIII century-tech kind of world. The reason of the setting is that I love early modern muzzleloading weapons, and I think guns can make fantasy more interesting....
MAG's user avatar
  • 487
13 votes
13 answers
8k views

If you had an infinite amount of any element, which would be the best metal to make bullets?

Lead is pretty much the go-to metal when it comes to making bullets. That is because lead is cheap, dense, soft, and has a low melting point. But of course, bullets can be made out of other metals. ...
ITM_Coder's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
279 views

Tech needed to make combustion light gas gun more feasible on specialized tanks/assault guns

I have an opponent in my setting that can only be defeated by either sustained tank gun rounds using a lot of high velocity rounds (APFSDS) or a few very high velocity rounds. Initially I planned on ...
FIRES_ICE's user avatar
  • 2,963
-1 votes
2 answers
231 views

What level of Endurance does a player have to have to shrug off a 9mm round from a pistol? [closed]

Weird one, but here we go. Setting: -A modern world, with the same laws of physics/same materials, weapons, etc. -The player is a normal human. Think baseline average American citizen that has a ...
OsiriumWrites's user avatar
3 votes
5 answers
1k views

What would be the range of a shaped charge gun "projectile"?

Context: A mix of Wild West with sci-fi elements where a character decided that it was a bright idea to have a shaped charge gun to blast people (humans or not) with molten "jets" (the ...
Fulano's user avatar
  • 209
1 vote
1 answer
187 views

How would a radiation gun work? [duplicate]

I am worldbuilding my own Sci-fi story and I wanted some sort of weaponry that wasn't just a regular gun that would shoot a projectile. So I had the thought about a radiation gun that well, shoots a ...
Venik Hue's user avatar
  • 1,222
3 votes
4 answers
884 views

Monomolecular wire bolo rounds: how to make it work?

In the near-future story I'm developing, I've tried to incorporate all kind of somewhat-credible technology into weapons and gadgets. I had the idea of what's basically two shotguns fused together, ...
Paulo Raposo's user avatar
  • 1,221
2 votes
2 answers
272 views

Would a gun that shoots subsonic depleted uranium/tungsten bullets require a muzzle booster for cycling reliability?

In the near-future story i'm developing the main character resorts to every trick in the book to improve the performance of her guns, including using subsonic cartridges for the sake of quietness, but ...
Paulo Raposo's user avatar
  • 1,221
3 votes
5 answers
371 views

How to justify guns being advanced earlier

In my world's history, firearms were developed in their medieval period, much like our world. However, they have things like culverins in the 1300s, and handgonnes that work better than in real ...
Crafter's user avatar
  • 2,585
-1 votes
4 answers
162 views

How could I calculate the necessary power to kill a fictional beast?

Say we have a pterodactyl-wyvern or a huge dragon-anaconda, maybe something like a t-rex, or a sand-crocodile, or a slime--- you get the idea. Assuming one wanted to make a fictional manual with ...
simon's user avatar
  • 465
1 vote
1 answer
120 views

Could this world use a buoyant ballistic weapon?

I don't know if there is a word for a ballistic projectile with buoyancy, but feedback from the weapons in my dense atmosphere suggests that I should consider changing the shape of my projectile, and ...
Vogon Poet's user avatar
  • 8,169
6 votes
2 answers
223 views

Maximum effective range for a modified Long Tom cannon in high density?

My airships in combat come upon each-other and initiate combat with their 12-foot long-tom guns. My problem is, I don't know what range they would be at when they decide to fire, because the post-...
Vogon Poet's user avatar
  • 8,169
2 votes
3 answers
203 views

Ways to Neutralize Firearms [closed]

I am trying to write a sci-fi story in the near future where armies use mechas but I also want them to engage in close combat using swords. Here is what I came up with so far: An army could use an EMP ...
Mohamed Nagy's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
1k views

How much gunpowder (or other materials) it would be required to accelerate 4mm Tungsten Sphere to 50 km/s? [closed]

I don't understand much about physics and ballistics, so I hope I don't make too many incorrect assumptions here. So, I just saw this video where a 4 mm tungsten sphere hits a 85 mm steel armor, and ...
Fulano's user avatar
  • 209
3 votes
2 answers
172 views

Could Nitinol (or similar super-elastic materials) be used to make a flexible gun nozzle/supressor?

I don't know if I should ask this here on Physics, but here we go. The Context: A certain secret society made a silencer to take down targets in the middle of crowds without being noticed. The Idea: ...
mandiokai's user avatar
  • 132
6 votes
5 answers
3k views

Could mass production of guns be possible by slaves?

I'm imagining a setting with 16th-17th century tech level. In this era, there's the rise of guns and blackpowder, and slavery too. Slavery was used mostly for agricultural reasons, but there were a ...
MAG's user avatar
  • 487
-1 votes
5 answers
182 views

Could a active rotational bullet increase accuracy?

I don't know where I should ask this, on History, Aerodynamics, Physics or here. But here we go. So, from what I could see on youtube videos (not the best source, I know), the bullets on rifles and ...
Fulano's user avatar
  • 209
2 votes
5 answers
457 views

Changes to firearms based on gasoline

I got a little question: how would it effect firearms if they would not be based on gunpowder but on gasoline like flammable liquid? What I think would happen: -because the liquid would need to be a ...
Mr M's user avatar
  • 43
3 votes
1 answer
414 views

How thick does a layer of spider silk need to be to stop these calibers of bullets from passing through?

Exactly what it says on the tin: how thick would a layer of spider silk need to be to stop each of the following bullets from passing through? .22 Short .32 ACP .380 ACP 9×19mm Parabellum .45 ACP ...
KEY_ABRADE's user avatar
  • 11.7k
3 votes
7 answers
240 views

Reasons why sword duelling would exist on a Mars-like planet with unbreathable air

The civilisation on this planet has rockets and computers, so presumably they are smart enough to invent guns if they really want guns. Taking a sabre to a gunfight is clearly a terrible lifestyle ...
Robyn's user avatar
  • 3,886