Most guns use compressed gas confined by the barrel to propel the bullet up to high speed, though devices operating in other ways are sometimes called guns. In firearms the high-pressure gas is generated by combustion, usually of
gunpowder. This principle is similar to that of
internal combustion engines, except that the bullet leaves the barrel, while the piston transfers its motion to other parts and returns down the cylinder. As in an internal combustion engine, the combustion propagates by
deflagration rather than by
detonation, and the optimal
gunpowder, like the optimal motor fuel, is resistant to detonation. This is because much of the energy generated in detonation is in the form of a
shock wave, which can propagate from the gas to the solid structure and heat or damage the structure, rather than staying as heat to propel the piston or bullet. The shock wave at such high temperature and pressure is much faster than that of any bullet, and would leave the gun as
sound either through the barrel or the bullet itself rather than contributing to the bullet's velocity.--Source:
Gun - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Unlike plants. Is it serious enough to revoke a constitutionally guaranteed right? Absolutely not.