What is "muzzle velocity"

n. (context firearms English) The velocity of a discharged projectile at the muzzle of a firearm.

n. the velocity of a projectile as it leaves the muzzle of a gun

Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets, to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns firing kinetic energy penetrator ammunition. To simulate orbital debris impacts on spacecraft, NASA launches projectiles through light-gas guns at speeds up to . The velocity of a projectile is highest at the muzzle and drops off steadily because of air resistance. Projectiles traveling less than the speed of sound (about 340 m/s or 1115 feet/s in dry air at sea level) are subsonic, while those traveling faster are supersonic and thus can travel a substantial distance and even hit a target before a nearby observer hears the "bang" of the shot. Projectile speed through air depends on a number of factors such as barometric pressure, humidity, air temperature, and wind speed.

In conventional guns, muzzle velocity is determined by the quality (burn speed, expansion) and quantity of the propellant, the mass of the projectile, and the length of the barrel. A slower-burning propellant needs a longer barrel to burn completely, but can, on the other hand, use a heavier projectile. A faster-burning propellant may accelerate a lighter projectile to higher speeds if the same amount of propellant is used. In a gun, the pressure resulting from the combustion process is a limiting factor on projectile velocity. A balance between propellant quality and quantity, projectile mass, and barrel length must be found if both safety and optimal performance is to be achieved.

Longer barrels give the propellant force more time to work on propelling the bullet. For this reason longer barrels generally provide higher velocities, everything else being equal. As the bullet moves down the bore, however, the propellant's gas pressure behind it diminishes. Given a long enough barrel, there would eventually be a point at which friction between the bullet and the barrel, and air resistance, would equal the force of the gas pressure behind it, and from that point, the velocity of the bullet would decrease.

Large naval guns will have length-to-diameter ratios of 38:1 to 50:1. This length ratio maximizes the projectile velocity. There is much interest in modernizing naval weaponry by using electrically driven railguns, which overcome the limitations noted above. With railguns, a constant acceleration is provided along the entire length of the device, greatly increasing the muzzle velocity. There is also a significant advantage in not having to carry explosive propellant, and even the projectile internal charges may be eliminated due to the high velocity – the projectile becomes a strictly kinetic weapon.

The United States Army defines different categories of muzzle velocity for different types of weapons:

Weapon

Low Velocity

High Velocity

Hypervelocity

Artillery cannons

Less than

Between and

Greater than

Tank cannons

-

Between and

Greater than

Small Arms

-

Between and

Greater than

Muzzle Velocity was a computer tactical wargame released by Digi4fun in 1997. The program was a unique hybrid of standard two-dimension map-based tactical gaming, and first person action. It is set in World War II

The game was developed by Code Fusion and Digi4Fun. At the time or release, it could lay claim to being "the ONLY true war strategy game that puts you in the middle of the action".(Microprose's M1 Tank Platoon was similar, but was considered a sim rather than a true strategy game.) The game graphics were garishly bright in colour, though armoured vehicles sported historically accurate camouflage paint jobs, and many touches were added to the three-dimensional world that would remain absent in later, more serious, wargames (such as Combat Mission) such as civilians, telephone poles, and moving railroad trains.

The player would select forces and move them on the two-dimensional battle map, while a tactical AI would resolve battles; however, the player could jump from unit to unit, taking over in a first person capacity. Gameplay was very arcade-like, and damage modelling was unrealistic in the extreme. Heavy machine guns could be used to knock stone buildings into piles of rubble, for example, and individual penetration statistics of the various weapons and armoured vehicles seem to have been fictional. As well, limitations of the game engine restricted engagement ranges to a few hundred metres.

Up to 100 units could be controlled in the overhead two-dimensional mode. The three-dimensional mode featured a very simplistic and generic graphics interface for vehicle controls.

Players could control British, American, or German forces. Weather effects were included, such as snow and rain falling in the 3D world, and terrain was realistic and textured, with such things as bullrushes in the swampy areas and decorative lamp posts in the urban areas. Sound effects were good, though all voices in the game spoke with a British accent, giving sometimes comical responses "Get out! Get out!" when infantry were unloaded, for example, or an apologetic "oops" when a civilian was crushed under your tank.

Terrain was deformable, with trees being crushed under the weight of vehicles and buildings collapsing under high explosive fire.

The game was solo play only, with no two-player capabilities of any kind, so the game had limited appeal after the novelty of negotiating the 3D world wore off. The computer opponent was very easy to beat in the 3D mode and the 2D interface was clumsy.

The game is also remembered for a stunning three-dimensional intro screen with animated tanks doing battle in a simulated hillside village; the graphics in the game did not unfortunately live up to the title movie.

Code Fusion was a US subsidiary of Digi4Fun, which was created for holding the exclusive US distribution rights. The game was based on the Pharlap DOS Extender, which enabled it to run beyond the DOS memory limit of 640K. The minimum specs called for 12MB, but 16MB is required to run the game smoothly.