Bwana John
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If we are talking about "the alkali metals", or the far left column of the peridioc table, you forgot about Francium.
Heh, probably a very stupid question... reactive metals in bullets
- Thread starter razorburn
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Glockfan.45
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Yes but you forget as most of us I suspect are military buffs we despise all things French
.Just a firecracker
If these bullets detonated inside the body the damage would be tremendous. I saw photos once of some moron to who held a cherry bomb in his mouth and his head exploded. It's similar to a shotgun discharging in somebody's mouth.
However, the explosiveness results from the rapid production of gas with no easy escape route. It expands in the body until something gives and then you've got a real mess. If it exploded in the air it would be like lighting a little pile of gunpowder - just a big poof - maybe some small scrapnel from the bullet. For a big bang you need it to explode inside something, compressing the gases that are released.
So I'm not sure the comments about this being a danger to anybody nearby if it explodes after leaving the the body or misses altogether are valid (unless they are hit directly).
Sealing the substance inside a bullet should be easy enough. Just don't go around chewing on your bullets or using them to open your beer bottles and you should be perfectly safe.
If these bullets detonated inside the body the damage would be tremendous. I saw photos once of some moron to who held a cherry bomb in his mouth and his head exploded. It's similar to a shotgun discharging in somebody's mouth.
However, the explosiveness results from the rapid production of gas with no easy escape route. It expands in the body until something gives and then you've got a real mess. If it exploded in the air it would be like lighting a little pile of gunpowder - just a big poof - maybe some small scrapnel from the bullet. For a big bang you need it to explode inside something, compressing the gases that are released.
So I'm not sure the comments about this being a danger to anybody nearby if it explodes after leaving the the body or misses altogether are valid (unless they are hit directly).
Sealing the substance inside a bullet should be easy enough. Just don't go around chewing on your bullets or using them to open your beer bottles and you should be perfectly safe.
Dr. Dickie
Member
Bawa John "If we are talking about "the alkali metals", or the far left column of the peridioc table, you forgot about Francium."
Glockfan.45"Yes but you forget as most of us I suspect are military buffs we despise all things French "
I choose to think of it as coming from "Stripes."
"If any of you homos touch my stuff, I'll kill you."
Glockfan.45"Yes but you forget as most of us I suspect are military buffs we despise all things French "
I choose to think of it as coming from "Stripes."
"If any of you homos touch my stuff, I'll kill you."
Well, francium is pretty much unobtainable since it only managed to exist for a few minutes in a chemists lab, right? Besides, being highly radioactive and with a half life of only 22 minutes, I wouldn't want one in a bullet.
and yeah, missing wouldn't pose a problem, it should be one of it's advantages over incendiary rounds. It's a metal that reacts explosively with water, so if it's not surrounded by a mass of liquid like in a body, and only is exposed to air, there would not be any explosion. The bullet would just oxidize and crumble into dust.
and yeah, missing wouldn't pose a problem, it should be one of it's advantages over incendiary rounds. It's a metal that reacts explosively with water, so if it's not surrounded by a mass of liquid like in a body, and only is exposed to air, there would not be any explosion. The bullet would just oxidize and crumble into dust.
PromptCritical
Member
For a good demonstration of the effects of these metals, check out this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2134266654801392897&q=alkali+metals&hl=en
I see a lot of talk of cesium and sodium filled rounds, but what of rubidium? Naturally occurring, next to no radiation, can be absorbed for use in nature, so the risk of accidental contamination is low. The reaction is near a violent as cesium, much more than the hydrogen/sodium/potassium rounds, and being the 16th most abundant element on earth, wouldn't require extensive outsourced mining operations, like cesium.
I would think delivery would be key. I would put this in a rifle round. Sure, you'd lose out to range (rubidium having 13.5% the density of lead) but with combat being reduced to double digit distances in most cases, having a round that reaches out to 300m+ loses it's value. To handle the speeds of delivery, I would forgo wax sealed over modified designs. Assuming it is used in current issue, 14.5" 5.56 rifles, I would marry the M855A1, supplement the bismuth with rubidium, and thicken the base of the jacket to control expansion and provide some stability to flight. Of course, this would be like firing a 35-40 gr varmint round the length of a 75 gr match bullet. With a steel (or similarly dense, non-polymer tip), the majority of the mass would be forward. I would reduce the overall length of the steel tip and focus on more reliable cold forged sealing techniques to keep the rubidium from leaking. Maybe going so far as to use a lead soft tip approach.
The end result would, in this example, create a stable fluid reactive round with limited over-penetration capabilities that would be sturdy enough to be jostled around in a magazine for days on end.
I would think delivery would be key. I would put this in a rifle round. Sure, you'd lose out to range (rubidium having 13.5% the density of lead) but with combat being reduced to double digit distances in most cases, having a round that reaches out to 300m+ loses it's value. To handle the speeds of delivery, I would forgo wax sealed over modified designs. Assuming it is used in current issue, 14.5" 5.56 rifles, I would marry the M855A1, supplement the bismuth with rubidium, and thicken the base of the jacket to control expansion and provide some stability to flight. Of course, this would be like firing a 35-40 gr varmint round the length of a 75 gr match bullet. With a steel (or similarly dense, non-polymer tip), the majority of the mass would be forward. I would reduce the overall length of the steel tip and focus on more reliable cold forged sealing techniques to keep the rubidium from leaking. Maybe going so far as to use a lead soft tip approach.
The end result would, in this example, create a stable fluid reactive round with limited over-penetration capabilities that would be sturdy enough to be jostled around in a magazine for days on end.
Dnaltrop
Member
This thread gives me fond memories of one of my Favorite science teachers... blowing tiles off of the ceiling with ascending reactions.
Just a little too large of a chunk, tossed in a pot of water.... Now that's education!
Just a little too large of a chunk, tossed in a pot of water.... Now that's education!
Back in the ground zombie thread...
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