Originally posted by mika14:
hiz!
why is this gun called recoiless?
i think i seen this gun at the movie 'Black Hawk Down'
i dun get it... thanks!
When firing a weapon (example, a gun) the recoil is force in the ooposite direction of the projectile movement. Newton's third law states that the actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and directly opposite; i.e., reaction is always equal and opposite to action. Therefore, the gun (and the ground) must absorb this reaction.
However, for a recoiless gun, the force of propelling the projectile forward is counteracted by the high velocity gas from the propellant released from the rear of the gun.
Let me use a simple analogy. Assume that a person is pushing a heavy cart (the projectile). The body and arms are the propellant. The leg is braced against the ground so that force can be applied to push the cart forward.
For a recoilless situation, imagine now that there are 2 carts. A person stands between the carts and extends both arms, thus pushing both carts in the opposite direction (the projectile and the propellant gas). The legs do not need to be braced against the ground.