Hey /sci/, /k/ here. why isn't petrol used instead of g

>>7790420
Difference in cost is HUGE, they use cordite a lot too now.

>>7790420

The strength of a reaction using petrol would be limited by how much oxygen you could get to it. As gunpowder comes with an included oxidizer, it doesn't have this problem.

>>7790420
Why are they measuring in volume (teaspoons) instead of mass?

>>7790420
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon

>>7790448
Then how do cars get enough oxygen gas to their engines?

>>7790515
an air injection system IRC

>>7790462
too complicated for normal people i guess

>>7790420
You'd need a mechanism in the gun to prepare the fuel-air mixture, and you probably couldn't achieve the same pressure without premature ignition.

A cartridge of cased ammunition is a very convenient, reliable device. You can store it for years, soak it in water, toss it around roughly, and it still goes off reliably just by banging a pin into the primer.

Firing a shot from a gasoline-powered gun would be like fuelling and starting an engine. It would need to compress air, disperse the gasoline through it, and ignite it. There would be seals to worry about, stale fuel, mechanically complicated air intakes and compressor, a battery, motor, etc. The gun would be heavier, more expensive, and less dependable.

>>7790515
TURBO THE FUCK OUT OF IT.

>>7790515
In the most basic system of a four-stroke engine, the piston retracts through the cylinder, increasing the volume of the combustion chamber thereby sucking air in then the piston drives forard, decreasing the volume of the combustion chamber, compressing the fuel-air mixture.

OP's video works in a similar way: by muzzle-loading, they compress the air in the barrel with the gasoline vapor.

More advanced automobile engines use turbines to pre-compress the intake air. Some high-performance engines use other tricks, like pre-cooling the air with water injection or injecting a more dense and potent oxidizer like nitrous oxide.

>>7790515
Naturally aspirated engines open up the valve to the cylinder by the cam followers. After the cylinder head pushes the exhaust gasses out on it's third up stroke. The falling of the cylinder increases the volume drawing air in.
For some cars they implement use of a turbine powered by the exhaust gases, which in turn draws air into the intake manifold (rigid hose lines feeding into the engine). They usually employ mechanisms and sensors to maintain a optimal charge (fuel/air mixture). This being a valve bypass to the exhaust manifold or else where. Super charging is similar but uses the engine's crank shaft and gearing ratios to spin a turbine.

Cars have a beautiful history in design and fabrication. Even old cars, being highly inefficient by today's standards, have a genuine touch of brilliance.