C-14 Ammunition

[Biffer]

All,
I'm a gun owner, and do a lot of shooting on the side, so the terran armory is fascinating to me. So far I've seen a few threads about the weapons on some of the Terran vehicles (such as the Thor), but not about the infantry armament.

The ammunition is described as 8 mm spikes. 8 mm is fairly small (about the size of a mauser), but moves at "hypersonic" (mach 5 +) speeds. Are there any detailed descriptions of this ammunition, such as the length of the bullet? There's no casing on on it for sure, so why is the magazine so big? Also, why is there muzzle flash on the marine animation when there is no propellant/powder explosion going on?

The description of the C-14 battle rifle is that it is a "gauss" type weapon, which would use electromagnetic force to propel the projectile. This weapon would have no recoil, because it uses electromagnetism, not a contained propellant/powder explosion. Any thoughts on why the wiki sites say that the CMC suits have built in mechanics to handle the recoil, when there wouldn't be any?

As you may have seen in my other threads, I seem like a nit-picker. But I'm glad I found a site where knowledgeable folks are willing to share what they know. Thanks in advance!

[Pandonetho]

Read l33t's article on the C14 Gauss Rifle, it's very detailed and offers an interesting perspective of the gun, as well as offering suggestions to your some of your questions.

[BusinessMonkey]

I think Biffer's referring to it already in his post, but in any case here is it:
http://sclegacy.com/editorials/34-ge...er-gauss-rifle

Since I'm not from Gun-Nut Country I can't really be constructive in this discussion, so this is my only way of contributing. ;P

[Kimera757]

See the linked article.

The ammunition is described as 8 mm spikes. 8 mm is fairly small (about the size of a mauser), but moves at "hypersonic" (mach 5 +) speeds. Are there any detailed descriptions of this ammunition, such as the length of the bullet?

No. Sci-fi writers often try to avoid boxing themselves into a corner.

There's no casing on on it for sure, so why is the magazine so big?

Because the rifles carry 500 rounds of ammo. (Or, perhaps, that's 500 rounds in the rifle and the marine's shoulder armor. Liberty's Crusade mentioned extra ammo being stored there.) The 500 round of ammo figure was explicitly stated at least twice in StarCraft: Frontline.

Also, why is there muzzle flash on the marine animation when there is no propellant/powder explosion going on?

If you fired a really big ass laser, it would make a sound like thunder, even though light doesn't make sound by itself. If you shove something through the air five times faster than the speed of sound, there'll be a sonic boom. Dunno about the light; see the article.

The description of the C-14 battle rifle is that it is a "gauss" type weapon, which would use electromagnetic force to propel the projectile. This weapon would have no recoil, because it uses electromagnetism, not a contained propellant/powder explosion.

See the article.

Any thoughts on why the wiki sites say that the CMC suits have built in mechanics to handle the recoil, when there wouldn't be any?

Because the sources the wiki references clearly state that the rifles do have recoil. (I, Mengsk was very explicit on this point.) If that's somehow wrong, it's only because Blizzard-authorized material isn't obeying the laws of physics.

And see the article. Seeing a trend here?

[Biffer]

See the linked article.



No. Sci-fi writers often try to avoid boxing themselves into a corner.



Because the rifles carry 500 rounds of ammo. (Or, perhaps, that's 500 rounds in the rifle and the marine's shoulder armor.) This was explicitly stated at least twice in StarCraft: Frontline.



If you fired a really big ass laser, it would make a sound like thunder, even though light doesn't make sound by itself. If you shove something through the air five times faster than the speed of sound, there'll be a sonic boom. Dunno about the light; see the article.



See the article.



Because the sources the wiki references clearly state that the rifles do have recoil. (I, Mengsk was very explicit on this point.) If that's somehow wrong, it's only because Blizzard-authorized material isn't obeying the laws of physics.

And see the article. Seeing a trend here?

Yeah, I'm reading the article now. Thanks for the referral. And yes, clearly some laws of physics are violated with SC.

[Hawki]

Been stated already I guess, but I guess it's fair to say that StarCraft subscribes to the "rule of cool." And with the C-14 and shell casings coming from gauss pistols, this extends to the weapons as well.

The magazine size actually seems to be a bit smaller than 500 rounds however-in both cases where 500 rounds are mentioned (Alternity, Weapon of War), it seems to be a reference to the no. of rounds on hand rather than magazine size per se. Did an edit on the wiki article not too long ago.

[Quirel]

Also, why is there muzzle flash on the marine animation when there is no propellant/powder explosion going on?

My favorite theory is that it's a liquid or something sprayed down the barrel after each shot, to get rid of excess heat. Formerly, I subscribed to the debunked "Gauss-Conventional Hybrid Weapon".

The description of the C-14 battle rifle is that it is a "gauss" type weapon, which would use electromagnetic force to propel the projectile. This weapon would have no recoil, because it uses electromagnetism, not a contained propellant/powder explosion. Any thoughts on why the wiki sites say that the CMC suits have built in mechanics to handle the recoil, when there wouldn't be any?

*cheek twitches...
Back on the HWF... I explained... dozens of times...
That Newton's Laws do not go out to lunch because you're using electromagnets. M1V1 still equals M2V2, people! GAH!
TANSTAFL. There Ain't No Such Thing As a Free Lunch. If you accelerate any mass to any velocity, there's an equivalent force coming back at you, no matter if you're using chemicals, compressed gasses, magnets, or Aunt Maggie's Patent Elixer.

I don't know where people got the idea that EM weapons are recoiless, but I wish that myth would curl up and die.

Nothing personal 'tween you and me. Just a pet peeve over a common misconception... maybe we could get Mythbusters on it...

As you may have seen in my other threads, I seem like a nit-picker. But I'm glad I found a site where knowledgeable folks are willing to share what they know. Thanks in advance!

Welcome. Somebody already directed you to the Article, so I just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

Because the sources the wiki references clearly state that the rifles do have recoil. (I, Mengsk was very explicit on this point.) If that's somehow wrong, it's only because Blizzard-authorized material isn't obeying the laws of physics.

And see the article. Seeing a trend here?

Not wrong...

Yeah, I'm reading the article now. Thanks for the referral. And yes, clearly some laws of physics are violated with SC.

*Rocks back and forth...
em-one-vee-one...

[Kacaier]

The description of the C-14 battle rifle is that it is a "gauss" type weapon, which would use electromagnetic force to propel the projectile. This weapon would have no recoil, because it uses electromagnetism, not a contained propellant/powder explosion. Any thoughts on why the wiki sites say that the CMC suits have built in mechanics to handle the recoil, when there wouldn't be any?

As Quirel pointed out, gaussian mechanics still experience recoil as per Newton's Law. There are some videos on YouTube that demonstrate a coilgun's recoil, because it is popularly and wrongly believed that a coilgun (aka Gauss gun) would have no recoil.

To explain it better, a coil gun or gauss rifle works by having a multiple "ring" of electromagnets along the barrel as shown below:

[___> |O| |O| |O|
Bullet - Emagnets

Those magnets will pull at the bullet with the same force that the bullet will affect the target. Because the magnets are connected to the rifle, the gun will pull backwards towards the bullet, and the bullet will be pulled forward toward the magnets. That is where your recoil comes from. And as everyone knows, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." If the bullet is going to go hypersonic and have enough force to tear a man in two, it's definitely going to have a large amount of recoil.

[Norfindel]

There's no casing on on it for sure, so why is the magazine so big? Also, why is there muzzle flash on the marine animation when there is no propellant/powder explosion going on?

I would say the magazine is big, to carry a lot of ammunition. The muzzle flash is like that, because it looks awesome.

The description of the C-14 battle rifle is that it is a "gauss" type weapon, which would use electromagnetic force to propel the projectile. This weapon would have no recoil, because it uses electromagnetism, not a contained propellant/powder explosion. Any thoughts on why the wiki sites say that the CMC suits have built in mechanics to handle the recoil, when there wouldn't be any?

Action and reaction forces don't depend on propellants. A Gauss rifle will have recoil, but it would maybe be a lot less "sudden" than a normal rifle (because the projectile is accelerated further by every coil). The coils are exerting a force on the projectile, they're anchored on the rifle, and you're holding the rifle.

[Taoo]

As for the flash, when you break the sound barrier, this happens. That, explains the flash on planets.
The problem is outer space. The sonic boom cannot dissipate into anything but neither can it occur for the very same reason it cannot dissipate, there is just nothing there to react with. I wonder what happens when you break the sound barrier in space, my guess is nothing, but I do not have any idea