Rifles
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
A rifle is a gun that has a much greater range and killing power than an any other ordinary gun.
First, let us see how the rifle gets its name. The barrel of a rifle is not smooth as the barrel of say, a pistol. It has minute aspersions on the inner surface. These asperities cause the bullet to spin around its own axis as it leaves the barrel of the gun and this is called the "Rifling effect" and thus the name. This spin that the bullet gets contributes to the rifle's range and power.
Firstly, the spin imparted to the bullet stabilizes it over long ranges because of the law of conservation of angular momentum.
The rifle is also a nasty killing weapon, and the bullet once it enters the human body, does a lot of damage.
To understand this, consider a top spinning on the floor. Now, place your finger gently on the head of the top, retarding its angular velocity. What happens is that the tip of the nail of the top starts revolving in an ever increasing radius, until the top topples. Exactly the same thing happens when a rifle bullet enters a human body.
This is my first article on this site, so, coments and sugestions are welcome.
First, let us see how the rifle gets its name. The barrel of a rifle is not smooth as the barrel of say, a pistol. It has minute aspersions on the inner surface. These asperities cause the bullet to spin around its own axis as it leaves the barrel of the gun and this is called the "Rifling effect" and thus the name. This spin that the bullet gets contributes to the rifle's range and power.
Firstly, the spin imparted to the bullet stabilizes it over long ranges because of the law of conservation of angular momentum.
The rifle is also a nasty killing weapon, and the bullet once it enters the human body, does a lot of damage.
To understand this, consider a top spinning on the floor. Now, place your finger gently on the head of the top, retarding its angular velocity. What happens is that the tip of the nail of the top starts revolving in an ever increasing radius, until the top topples. Exactly the same thing happens when a rifle bullet enters a human body.
This is my first article on this site, so, coments and sugestions are welcome.
