WEBVTT - How Gun Silencers Work

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from house Stuff Works dot com, where

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<v Speaker 1>Brain with today's question. How does a gun silencer work?

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<v Speaker 1>It's amazing that anything is able to silence a gun,

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<v Speaker 1>but gun silencers actually work on a very simple principle.

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<v Speaker 1>Imagine a balloon. If you pop a balloon with a pin,

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<v Speaker 1>it will make a loud noise, But if you were

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<v Speaker 1>to untie the end of the balloon and let the

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<v Speaker 1>air out slowly, it makes very little noise. This is

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<v Speaker 1>the basic idea behind a gun silencer. To fire a

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<v Speaker 1>bullet from a gun, gunpowder is ignited behind the bullet.

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<v Speaker 1>The gunpowder creates a high pressure pulse of hot gas.

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<v Speaker 1>The pressure of the gas forces the bullet down the

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<v Speaker 1>barrel of the gun. When the bullet exits the end

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<v Speaker 1>of the barrel, it is like uncorking a bottle. The

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<v Speaker 1>pressure behind the bullet is immense, however, on the order

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<v Speaker 1>of three thousand pounds per square inch, so the pop

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<v Speaker 1>that a gun makes as it's uncorked is extremely loud.

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<v Speaker 1>A silencer screws onto the end of the barrel and

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<v Speaker 1>has a huge volume compared to the barrel, twenty or

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<v Speaker 1>thirty times greater. With the silencer in place, the pressure

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<v Speaker 1>rise gas behind the bullet has a big space to

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<v Speaker 1>expand into, so the pressure of the hot gas falls significantly.

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<v Speaker 1>When the bullet finally exits through the hole in the silencer,

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<v Speaker 1>The pressure being uncorked is much much lower, perhaps sixty

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<v Speaker 1>p s i. Therefore, the sound of the gun firing

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<v Speaker 1>is much softer. Do you have any ideas or suggestions

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