Can A Gun Fire In Space

Modern ammunition contains its own oxidizer a chemical that will trigger the explosion of gunpowder and thus the firing of.
Can a gun fire in space. The necessary oxidizer required to ignite the gunpowder is also self contained which means there is no reason for a gun to not fire in space. Answered december 23 2018. Fires can t burn in the oxygen free vacuum of space but guns can shoot. In addition to there being no sound in space there is also no oxygen which is required to create and sustain any kind of fire.
Or rather it does but not on the oxygen in the atmosphere. Direct sunlight might make the gun hot enough for the ammunition to explode spontaneously whereas a gun kept in the shade would eventually become so cold that the primer in the firing cap might not go. Bullets carry their own oxidising agent in the explosive of the cartridge which is sealed anyway so there s no need for atmospheric oxygen to ignite the propellant. No atmospheric oxygen required.
In other words you re going to need more than a few super soakers. Shooting a weapon in space is possible. The universe expands at a much faster rate than a bullet could travel so the bullet would never get anywhere. A conventional firearm would under most circumstances work perfectly well in space.
However modern ammunition comes with its own oxidiser chemical that can trigger the explosion of gunpowder so all this space bound gunplay kind of makes sense sort of. The cartridge does not allow the air to enter when properly packed hence the chance of premature popping out of the bullet cartridge in space is also out the window. It s true that there s no oxygen in the abyss of space but the firing of a gun doesn t depend on oxygen even here on earth. Of course there will be no fire because there is no oxygen but the mechanics of a gun work equally well on earth and in space.
Without the stabilising effect of the atmosphere the wide temperature variations in space might be a problem though. In fact a gunpowder based firearm would work slightly better in space than on earth. 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. And if you think that fire can t burn in the oxygen free vacuum of space you re absolutely right.