static spark set off a round???

[Came2ride]

I was at the park with my nephew and an interesting question poped into my head. Can going down a plastic slide set off as round in either a gun or spare mag? I would think so but I guess its possible. Feedback please

 

[CYANIDEGENOCIDE]

electricity follows path of least resistance, the case provides and easier path rather than arcing through the insulating air/powder mixture inside.

 

[Came2ride]

Very well I should have paid attention n school I guess

 

[youngda9]

^^ Correct. I can't see it happeining. Static electricity has little energy. A bolt of lighting would do the trick I figure due to the heat generated.

 

[rcmodel]

Static electricity would have a difficult time igniting smokeless powder laying loose in the open.
A primer maybe?
Black powder, probably.

But as CYANIDEGENOCIDE alluded to.
The metal case, bullet, and primer cup surrounded by the metal magazine and barrel, provide a perfect Faraday cage around the powder & primer compound.

Electricity ain't gonna set it off if you can still walk away from the bolt from the blue.

rc

 

[Came2ride]

I wasn't to eager to go down after I got shocked so I thought I'd ask the good people of thr

 

[duns]

Can going down a plastic slide set off as round in either a gun or spare mag?

I would say absolutely not because the spark would be outside the casing. The round needs percussion or a very high temperature to go off and the weak spark from static electricity provides no percussion and negligible heat.

 

[Warbow]

Click here for an interesting read on static sparks and black powder with very neat photos.

Even with black powder ground to the consistency of very fine dust, it still didn't ignite with arcing current passing through it. They also did one with Unique smokeless -- no ignition.

 

[Came2ride]

+1 warbow, good pictures and good info

 

[Black Knight]

Just beware 9 volt batteries. I read an article many years ago that indicated that it can set off a 22 LR if the casing sets on the two contacts long enough. In the article the writer had put a battery in his pocket not realizing there was a 22 LR round in there as well. A while later the round went off. Wondering what caused the round to go off he did a test. He set a round across the two terminals and got back a safe distance. A while later (don't recall the exact time) the round went off. He concluded that a 9 volt battery could cause a 22 LR round to go off. He didn't try it with a centerfire round though so I would ere on the side of caution on that one.

 

[LibShooter]

I don't think the spark could get to the powder inside. The brass case and copper clad bullet are both good conductors and form a perfect Farady Cage around the powder. I guess a really big spark could heat the casing enough to set off the powder, but in that case I think you would have bigger problems to worry about. Your heart would have stopped and you would likely be on fire.

 

[kingmt]

There s no way that going down the slide would set off a round. The reason is that the shock itself won't ignite anything but the heat that is created will. It would burn you way before it got hot enough to ignite the powder. This makes the .22 in the pocket heard to belive also. I am sure that the 9v battery could get it hot enough to go off (I have grounded out a 9v in my pocket before). The thing is that it would be very hot on his leg long before it got hot enough to go off.

 

[Sunray]

"...static spark set off a round?..." No. Neither will any battery.

 

[scrat]

Static electricity can not i repeat can not set off black powder. NOR smokeless

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/cliffhanger/wardlaw/staticelectricity.htm

click the link above

i keep seeing this come up from time to time. People scared of black powder and static. Same time arguing about electricity and black powder. Then i believe it was mykeal that reminded me of black powder. Black powder needs a heat source. A static charge alone can not ignite it. Now if there was a source of metal that could act as a heat source then the black powder can and will ignite. here is a link to a test done on black powder and static charge. Its a pretty good link everyone should see.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=414231
also above.

 

[Sunray]

"...a source of metal that could act as a heat source..." How does metal act as a heat source?

 

[Boba Fett]

Mythbusters did an episode (Season 1, Episode 9) about somebody who supposedly used a 22lr as a fuse for their truck (which does apparently work, but I really wouldn't recommend it).


The Mythbusters tried it and at first nothing happened. The bullet did not go off under normal circumstances (e.g. with the truck in normal working order). Temperature of the bullet was 113 F. No big deal really.


They then decided to create a short (meaning a high current was running through the 22lr which, since it wasn't a fuse which would have blown, allowed the short to continue). They fried the wiring in the truck and the bullet still didn't go off.

Then they took a heavier gauge wire (supposedly the heaviest you can find in a truck), touched the wires together and *bang*!


So the sort of circumstances needed to set off a round with electricity are not present in a plastic slide.

By using it as a fuse in a vehicle, yeah it's possible, unlikely, but possible. So don't do that for sure

 

[scrat]

Kinda like what boba said. You would have to heat up the metal like an electric stove or electric heater. Copper would be the best type of element i presume. Heating up the metal to high temperature to act as a heat source to ignite the charge. If done correctly it could be done but static alone can not do it. The cva electronic iginition system uses a method like this.