Technical explanation for Vera

POSTED BY: oct0gen
UPDATED: Thursday, January 19, 2006 07:56
VIEWED: 6787
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AERIN

Thursday, January 19, 2006 4:10 AM

Wow, I don't know anything about guns, so I had to look that up. I didn't know gunpowder had its owner oxidizers. This is why I'm so addicted to this site!

My first reaction is that Jayne didn't know any better, but he knows his stuff when it comes to tracking and shooting. If he says Vera needs oxygen, then I believe him.

Jayne: I once hit a guy in the neck from 500 yards with a bent scope. Don't that count upstairs?
Book: Oh, it'll be taken into consideration.
Jayne: You made that sound kind of ominous.

REAVERINA1985RIVIERA

Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:56 AM

What I want is an explanation as to why Vera wan't in the BDM. If she's his Very Favorite Gun, why wasn't he hugging her for comfort when Serenity was coasting through Reaver space?

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The real-life box droppin', man-ape gone wrong thing, now without the pesky falling boxes

N0SKILLZ

Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by oct0gen:
gunpowder is mix of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine and/or nitroguanadine. the oxygen comes from the no3 nitro group and reacts with the carbons and hydrogens in the cellulose or glycerin (although i think cellulose has some oxygen already in it) to form gasses and heat to propel the bullet. also a lot of energy comes from the triple bonding of the nitrogen to from n2. so, like a rocket engine, bullets need no atmospheric oxygen to function.

ahhh, that explains it then.

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RAF Lakenheath

J6NGO1977

Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:17 AM

Fantastic! I honestly just presumed that Vera would need an atmosphere to function. So I never argued the 'Vera in a spacesuit' theory. This is just the best forum. I just don't get to talk about Firefly but I also get to learn about science as well. So when I go in to work next I can bore my friends with 'Did you know......' conversation. LOL

SAINTJAYNIAC

Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:27 AM

More goodies on Vera :)

http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/CallahanFullboreAutolock

SHINYTALENT

Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:37 AM

Ok, so that's awesome that you found all of that but I actually have a teeny problem- I'm not a total gun-nut- I like guns but can't usually tell one gun from the other well I asked someone exactly what sort of gun Vera was and they said she was a "mish-mash of parts"
Being an engineer and a fire-arm enthusiast could you tell me exactly what parts? If you know??

Thanks

The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems.

SAINTJAYNIAC

Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:48 AM

The link on my last post 'splains it a bit. It's a shotgun based on the Kalishnikov action, which is the same action that the AK-47 uses. It got gussied up with all sorts of purty bolt-ons to make it more Jayne'esque :)

TRAP!

SHINYTALENT

Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:51 AM

Cool, thanks loads for that- it'll tie into a Jayne-based fanfic I'm writing! You're a life saver!

The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems.

FLETCH2

Thursday, January 19, 2006 7:56 AM

I had two thoughts.

1) It needed air for cooling. In a vacuum there would be almost no heat transfer and if the propelent had enough kick that could cause problems with parts unevenly expanding and maybe causing a jam.

2) Leeching. If the rounds are caseless it could be that the propelent outgasses in vacuum and that could ruin the round or make the burn uneven enough to seriously effect accuracy.

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