Internal Ballistics of a Pneumatic Potato Cannon

Abstract

Basic laws of thermodynamics and mechanics are used to analyse an air gun. Such devices are often employed in outdoor physics demonstrations to launch potatoes using compressed gas that is here assumed to expand reversibly and adiabatically. Reasonable agreement is found with reported muzzle speeds for such homebuilt cannons. The treatment is accessible to undergraduate students who have taken calculus-based introductory physics.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 09, 2009
Accession Number
ADA551097

Entities

People

  • Carl E. Mungan

Organizations

  • United States Naval Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Guns
  • Ballistics
  • Barometric Pressure
  • Electronic Mail
  • Equations
  • Gas Laws
  • Ideal Gas Law
  • Measurement
  • Numbers
  • Physics
  • Projectiles
  • Propellants
  • Specific Heat
  • Square Roots
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Thermodynamics
  • United States Naval Academy

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Test and Evaluation
  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.
  • STEM Education