03-08-2021, 05:22 PM | #31 |
Join Date: Mar 2021
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
Reading your posts my first thought was that, in the case of using resistance heating, it would take too long for the heating element to cool down before you could fill the flash pan. Then I realized you could just mount the heating element on a lock mechanism. It would work just like a flintlock, but with less mechanical wear since the element wouldn't actually strike anything to produce sparks.
Might be viable. I honestly don't know if this would be a practical device, but it could be a cool one for a game setting. Last edited by TerryW; 03-08-2021 at 05:24 PM. Reason: corrcted spellign |
03-08-2021, 05:43 PM | #32 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
When in doubt, always go with cool.
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03-08-2021, 06:50 PM | #33 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
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I'm not certain how you would electrically isolate the wires and electrodes from the (metal) barrel at low TL, however. Maybe you could wrap a copper wire with finely-woven asbestos and feed it through small holes drilled into the barrel? You'll want a really tight fit so gas doesn't escape through said holes, of course. I still don't think you can produce enough power from striking a quartz crystal (for example) to get black powder to ignite, but I'd be happy to be wrong. EDIT: I wonder if saltpeter-soaked paper would be electrically conductive? That would allow you to open the breech, toss in a paper cartridge, close the breech, and ignite the powder while it's still in the cartridge, no need to puncture it.
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03-08-2021, 07:08 PM | #34 |
Join Date: Mar 2021
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
All I could find is that potassium nitrate is used as an electrolyte in salt bridges, which I understand about as well as I understand ancient Sumerian.
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03-08-2021, 07:19 PM | #35 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
Doesn't really help since presumably your cartridge wrapper isn't meant to be wet when firing.
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03-08-2021, 07:40 PM | #36 |
Join Date: Mar 2021
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
Not my area of expertise, but I've found:
A) Potassium nitrate is a salt, so nitrated paper might be electrically conductive if the salpetre concentration is high enough (I think. Listen, ask me about the spread of agriculture and its impact on indigenous populations, not chemistry. Or Star Trek. Ask me about Star Trek). B) Once you have nitrated paper you're halfway there to nitrocellulose, aka guncotton, which can be ignited by electric shock. There might be mechanical issues with a flash paper cartridge ignited by electric shock from primitive dry cells, but it's possible. It'd probably be extremely expensive at low tech levels. |
03-08-2021, 07:57 PM | #37 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: traveller
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
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03-08-2021, 08:14 PM | #38 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
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Molten or dissolved in water is a different story, but neither of those applies.
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03-08-2021, 08:54 PM | #39 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
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Stop thinking about primitive dry cells. They're very bulky and won't produce the kind of shock you need. You would have to have a decent capacitor. We're talking 1970s flash camera rather than 1850s telelgraph. Now if you want to ignite black powder with _magic_ that's easy. :)
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03-08-2021, 09:06 PM | #40 |
Join Date: Jul 2010
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Re: Plausibility check for mixed TL3/4+2 firearm
Flint and steel have been reliable sources of ignition for at least 2000 years.
On a different note, opening the cartridge to expose the powder can (and historically was) done by shearing the paper off with the breech block as it closes. That's assuming you use a falling block system. A lug/interrupted thread system would need another method. The Dreyse needle gun just punched through the paper, but the primer as inside the cartridge, at the base of the bullet. |
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