Quote:
Originally Posted by hal
I'm thinking that the propellant has to be a bit more stable than rocket fuel oxidizers simply on the grounds that a hit against the two bottles by a bullet could set off a secondary explosion.
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That's a pretty low probability situation, and without a containment vessel, will usually just result in a fire.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hal
Real world data exists for muzzle velocity, smokeless powder mass, and bullet mass, which permits us to determine what the energy content of the smokeless powder has to be in the neighborhood of.
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Or you can look up the properties of nitrocellulose. Plausible TL 8 solid propellants have an energy density of 4-5 kJ/g, though guns typically only have an efficiency of 20-30%. Likely (non-cryogenic) binary propellants are similar, the theoretical benefits of liquid propellants aren't based on energy density.