Does this sound right to anyone?

wayupnorth

wayupnorth

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one of my kids is doing a course via distance ED to get a couple extra credits and the course they picked up was a forensic's course.
(kinda wish they had those when i was in school - looks neat!)

so i was walking by and she asked me a question.....
which gun has more kinetic energy, a revolver or a pistol?

i stop, look at her and say.... a revolver is a pistol.

she shows me her module and it shows a 'pistol' as a semi auto pistol.
so im like.... errrr ok.

ill let that pass i guess, seems like a silly mistake.
so then she says, never mind, i found the answer in the readings, the semi auto has more kinetic energy.
i was surprised by that.
my thinking was the revolver would have more because the semi auto uses some of the gases to do its blow back where the revolver does not.
but the reading module states that revolvers are inherently bad because they lose pressure in the gap between the cylinder and the barrel.

im sitting here thinking about that and i dont know... it seems wrong.

really, at the end of the day the question is what is wrong, caliber should have been what they asked.

but it does bring up a interesting question.
if you shoot the same lets say 9mm load from a semi auto and a revolver which one will have higher velocity (which should then have higher kinetic energy i would think).

Friday night fun with math!
 
Kinetic energy is different vs different calibers.

But if you consider a 9mm revolver vs a 9mm pistol, there would be due to the weigh differences and the action type.

K=(1/2)mv2
 
Wow ! It seems like a totally lame course ! Why not mention a bolt action pistol? As far as the revolver question I would
Say “ depends on the revolver “

And the real question is “ to what conclusion?”
Sounds like a waste and of money to me ,
Like a “tactical questioning course “ that make you an interrogator in 45 hours .
 
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I'm taking this as an "all things being equal/friction-less vacuum" type question, because that is clearly the spirit of the thing; the revolver will have less energy all things being equal, yes, because of the cylinder gap. Semi-autos do not harness any gas to cycle the action (with limited exceptions ie: Desert Eagle) they use the recoil energy. It's not a factor in the velocity of the projectile.
 
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Don't forget that your average restricted only semi-auto pistol has a barrel of say, 4 1/2 or 5 inches total from head of case to muzzle, whereas an average restricted only revolver with a 4 1/2 or 5 inch barrel is what 6 1/2+ inches from head of case to muzzle. This must count for something.

Sounds like "Forensics for dummies".
 
Without stipulating same caliber and load, and barrel length, the question is stupid.

There is a little loss in the gap, but the fact is that there is a gun to gun difference in velocity, even is "identical" guns. The difference in power between an equal pistol and revolver would be negligible, and could go either way.

A question only a professor could ask. They don't live and work in the real world.
 
I mean, what they’re getting at is correct, that revolvers do lose some muzzle velocity due to the cylinder gap, but in no way can you generalize that semi autos have higher “kinetic energy”. It sounds like the question was written by someone with some knowledge about handguns, just not enough knowledge.
 
Yail Bloor said:
I'm taking this as an "all things being equal/friction-less vacuum" type question, because that is clearly the spirit of the thing; the revolver will have less energy all things being equal, yes, because of the cylinder gap. Semi-autos do not harness any gas to cycle the action (with limited exceptions ie: Desert Eagle) they use the recoil energy. It's not a factor in the velocity of the projectile.
Click to expand...

I agree it's hard to explain it rationally, or take it any other way then all things being equal, different platform.

When revolvers were first built, pistols already existed.... the revolvers were very different..... then semi auto's took things in a new direction again different from revolvers.

If I was looking at a diagram of a revolver and a semi auto handgun and had to attach the words revolver and pistol to the diagram..... it would not be hard.... :)

Clipazine.
 
Tell her to tell the prof to throw in a Nagant revolver to the mix which basically seals the inherent gas leaks in a regular revolver and see if his head explodes.
 
wayupnorth said:
one of my kids is doing a course via distance ED to get a couple extra credits and the course they picked up was a forensic's course.
(kinda wish they had those when i was in school - looks neat!)

so i was walking by and she asked me a question.....
which gun has more kinetic energy, a revolver or a pistol?

i stop, look at her and say.... a revolver is a pistol.

she shows me her module and it shows a 'pistol' as a semi auto pistol.
so im like.... errrr ok.

ill let that pass i guess, seems like a silly mistake.
so then she says, never mind, i found the answer in the readings, the semi auto has more kinetic energy.
i was surprised by that.
my thinking was the revolver would have more because the semi auto uses some of the gases to do its blow back where the revolver does not.
but the reading module states that revolvers are inherently bad because they lose pressure in the gap between the cylinder and the barrel.

im sitting here thinking about that and i dont know... it seems wrong.

really, at the end of the day the question is what is wrong, caliber should have been what they asked.

but it does bring up a interesting question.
if you shoot the same lets say 9mm load from a semi auto and a revolver which one will have higher velocity (which should then have higher kinetic energy i would think).

Friday night fun with math!
Click to expand...

There's revolvers and pistols and both are handguns.
 
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