Marshall Brain's Blog

"... and centrifugal force has existed since the invention of the wheel"

I would think since the invention of the sling-shot (if you insist on a mechanical assist), or (even simpler) since the invention of the spear (with or without atlatl) or (simpler, yet) rock-throwing. - blzbob
 

There are three big problems with this idea though.
1) supersonic projectiles will still have the supersonic sound
2) rifles sounds are already easy to suppress, you just need a gradual expansion chamber on the muzzle.
3) ball rounds are very inaccurate, the big jump from ball muskets to rifled cylinder bullets increased accuracy substantially.
But yeah, any new idea is a good one, maybe just not practical ;)
 

"Why didn't I think of that?" indeed!
 

With regards to what Kallahar said;
"1) supersonic projectiles will still have the supersonic sound"

But, being supersonic, the sonic boom only arrives *after* the rounds have struck the target. Too late by then.

"2) rifles sounds are already easy to suppress, you just need a gradual expansion chamber on the muzzle."

The noise of the round going off - gunpowder exploding - doesn't happen in this device. I would imagine it would sound somewhat like a high speed turbine, but even that could be quieted down fairly simply. A further note - rifle suppressors are usually only effective for a limited number of rounds which is fairly small.

"3) ball rounds are very inaccurate, the big jump from ball muskets to rifled cylinder bullets increased accuracy substantially.

This is a legitimate issue. I figure they'll sort that out eventually.
 

I've been a HUGE fan of HowStuffWorks and I just stumbled upon your blog. First post I see "Centrifugal Weapon" was a hit with me also.

Do I have to have a license to carry one :-)

-Nev
 

Wow, a gyrostabolized weapon that can't be aimed! Where can I get one?
 

I can think of at least one way to increase the accuracy. Grooveed barrels. Not quite like threaded barrles of today, but with a deeper groove to them to "guide" the ball in a better, more stablized desired direction. The only thing is that it might slow the round down too much.

As for not being able to aim it, why not? The rounds have to come out of a specific hole which canhave a aiming point right above it easy enough.

I like it and wish I could have one. Of course, I don't exactly know what I would do with it. The next step after developing the crew served weapon would be to develope a smaller personal weapon. Remember those old movies showing the machine gun on the old bi and tri planes? The ones with the big drum magazine on top of them. I can see something like that being used. And something similar for snipers.

What do yall think?