The Collaborative International Dictionary
Percussion \Per*cus"sion\, n. [L. percussio: cf. F. percussion. See Percuss.]
The act of percussing, or striking one body against another; forcible collision, esp. such as gives a sound or report.
--Sir I. Newton.-
Hence: The effect of violent collision; vibratory shock; impression of sound on the ear.
The thunderlike percussion of thy sounds.
--Shak. -
(Med.) The act of tapping or striking the surface of the body in order to learn the condition of the parts beneath by the sound emitted or the sensation imparted to the fingers. Percussion is said to be immediate if the blow is directly upon the body; if some interventing substance, as a pleximeter, is, used, it is called mediate.
Center of percussion. See under Center.
Percussion bullet, a bullet containing a substance which is exploded by percussion; an explosive bullet.
Percussion cap, a small copper cap or cup, containing fulminating powder, and used with a percussion lock to explode gunpowder.
Percussion fuze. See under Fuze.
Percussion lock, the lock of a gun that is fired by percussion upon fulminating powder.
Percussion match, a match which ignites by percussion.
Percussion powder, powder so composed as to ignite by slight percussion; fulminating powder.
Percussion sieve, Percussion table, a machine for sorting ores by agitation in running water.
Wiktionary
n. a metal cap found on muzzleloading firearms that contains chemical substances such as fulminate that explode upon impact
WordNet
n. a detonator that explodes when struck
Wikipedia
The percussion cap, introduced circa 1820, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather. This gave rise to the caplock or percussionlock system.
Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems that produced flint-on- steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the gun's main powder charge (the flintlock mechanism replaced older ignition systems such as the matchlock and wheellock). Flintlocks were prone to misfire in wet weather, and many flintlock firearms were later converted to the more reliable percussion system.
The percussion cap is a small cylinder of copper or brass with one closed end. Inside the closed end is a small amount of a shock-sensitive explosive material such as fulminate of mercury. The percussion cap is placed over a hollow metal "nipple" at the rear end of the gun barrel. Pulling the trigger releases a hammer that strikes the percussion cap and ignites the explosive primer. The flame travels through the hollow nipple to ignite the main powder charge. Percussion caps were, and still are, made in small sizes for pistols and larger sizes for rifles and muskets.
While the metal percussion cap was the most popular and widely used type of primer, their small size made them difficult to handle under the stress of combat or while riding a horse. Accordingly, several manufacturers developed alternative, "auto-priming" systems. The " Maynard tape primer", for example, used a roll of paper "caps" much like today's toy cap gun. The Maynard tape primer was fitted to some firearms used in the mid-nineteenth century and a few saw brief use in the American Civil War. Other disc or pellet-type primers held a supply of tiny fulminate detonator discs in a small magazine. Cocking the hammer automatically advanced a disc into position. However, these automatic feed systems were difficult to make with the manufacturing systems in the early and mid-nineteenth century and generated more problems than they solved. They were quickly shelved in favor of a single percussion cap that, while awkward to handle in some conditions, could be carried in sufficient quantities to make up for occasionally dropping one while a jammed tape primer system reduced the rifle to an awkward club.
The first practical solution for the problem of handling percussion caps in battle was the Prussian 1841 ( Dreyse needle gun), which used a long needle to penetrate a paper cartridge filled with black powder and strike the percussion cap that was fastened to the base of the bullet. While it had a number of problems, it was widely used by the Prussians and other German states in the mid-nineteenth century and was a major factor in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War.
In the 1850s, the percussion cap was first integrated into a metallic cartridge, which contained the bullet, powder charge and primer. By the late 1860s, breech-loading metallic cartridges had made the percussion cap system obsolete. Today, reproduction percussion firearms are popular for recreational shooters and percussion caps are still available (though some modern muzzleloaders use shotshell primers instead of caps). Most percussion caps now use non-corrosive compounds such as lead styphnate.
Usage examples of "percussion cap".
Pauly also invented a centerfire primer, a percussion cap set into the center of the rear end of his cartridge.
An officer, armed with an expensive percussion cap pistol that was proof against the rain, fired upwards and a Rifleman toppled from the ramparts and was torn apart by bayonets.
That idea brings up the percussion cap and the action that goes with it.
Basically the percussion cap is a simple cup made from any thin metal.
The sound of percussion cap and black powder explosion blends into one sound as both rangers fire their first barrel.
The original gun used a percussion cap for this ignition, but a flintlock or even a bit of glowing slow match from an artillerist's linstock would work as well.
Sharpe made the gun safe by lowering the hammer onto the percussion cap.
And like any flintlock, they were much more vulnerable to misfires than a percussion cap design.
Then Matthew slipped another percussion cap over the nipple and ran on up the slope after Zouga.
When you've got charges and balls inside all six chambers, you pinch a percussion cap onto each of these six nipples around the back of the cylinder.