CAN YOU SHOOT A GUN IN THE SPACE? Marcos López Agea1ºB

CAN YOU SHOOT A GUN IN THE SPACE???

Yes, you can

Probably you will think that it wouldn´t be possible because there is no oxygen.

Fires can't burn in the oxygen-free vacuum of space, but guns can shoot. Guns don't technically need oxygen to work. The gunpowder (or whichever explosive is in the cartridge holding the bullet) is completely self-contained and does not depend on the surrounding atmosphere.

Modern ammunition contains its own oxidizer, a chemical that will trigger the explosion of gunpowder, and thus the firing of a bullet, wherever you are in the universe. No atmospheric oxygen required.

In fact, the gun will work even better in outer space, because the bullet won't have to push and compress the air in the barrel as it exits the gun.

Since there's no air to slow down the bullet as it travels, the range of the gun would essentially be infinite. Of course, the trajectory would curve eventually, since it would probably still be in orbit, but it would have a notably different orbit than the gun itself or the person that fired it.

Other difference between pulling the trigger on Earth and in space is the shape of the resulting smoke trail. In space, it would be an expanding sphere of smoke from the tip of the barrel.

So in short, yes, you can shoot a gun in space. But for everyone's sake let's just hope it never has to come to that.