Liquid nitrogen + bullet/cartridge

[.cheese.]

Might be a silly question, but I'm somewhat curious what you guys think would happen if you dropped say a 9mm cartridge in a vat of liquid nitrogen.

Note: as curious as I might be - if you happen to have liquid nitrogen somehow, don't try this out just to satisfy my curiosity. Not worth whatever might happen.

 

[musher]

I'm guessing it would get--well--colder.

Unless of course you were dropping it into liquid nitrogen immediately after taking it out of liquid helium. Then, of course, it would get warmer.

So in conclusion, I would say the cartridge would either get colder or warmer--depending.

 

[hso]

Nothing except the bullet and primer might loosen due to differential thermal stress.

 

[gezzer]

It would get very, very, very cold.

 

[Lupinus]

it would get a might chilly?

 

[DogBonz]

sorry to dissapoint

but nothing, other then it might not fire. The mythbusters did it when testing the "ice bullet" myth. I think that they got low velocity, but nothing crazy.

 

[musher]

Spelling and Grammar Nazis are pests with no life giving no useful input to discussion

Oh, and I think you need a comma in that sentence.

 

[.cheese.]

interesting.

I'll have to watch that episode somehow. Is it out on DVD perhaps?

I was more wondering if it would go off from compression? I figured the metal would contract and the primer would get squashed and go off..... after that I was out of ideas.

Don't know why I even thought about it, but it had me wondering.

 

[madmike]

It might loosen the bullet if the lead contracted more than the brass case, and even more likely with a steel case.

There also needs to be a period on that sentence

 

[Gifted]

The primer, and the pellet inside, would shrink too, so that wouldn't happen. And when you prime a round, you're actually compressing the compound a bit, and that doesn't set it off. Sudden shock or heat is needed for that.

 

[highlander 5]

More than likely it would be like glass and shatter when dropped on a hard surface I doubt that the powder would detonate.

 

[Mot45acp]

Next time I do a "line freeze" at work I will post results. Might be a while, I only do maybe 2 a year.

 

[madmike]

More than likely it would be like glass and shatter

Not likely. Metals are resilient to quite low temps, especially copper alloys.

 

[scout26]

Definitely don't put your tongue on it.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Now the real question--will this increase the reloadable life of the case after thawing.

 

[QuietShootr]

Most likely, what would happen is that the LN2 would get inside the case and when you returned it to room temp it would expand and pop the bullet and/or primer out of the case. Other than that, nothing spectacular.

 

[bogie]

Make sure it's wearing a padded bra, for starters...