3DScience Fiction water pistol

Tugar

I had a brainstorm the other day. This is a new type of weapon. Although it looks like a conventional pistol, the ammunition makes it very special. On Jupiter, there exists metallic hydrogen and metallic oxygen. Inside the bullet, both are encapsulated inside pressure spheres. Once the bullet hits a target, the tip sends a small charge through the bullet. The spheres combine to form a water jet. The jet shoots forward into the target. It could also contain just metallic hydrogen or oxygen only. Both are highly flammable.

Anyone that has seen a water knife knows this can work. 100,000 psi water cuts through steel like a hot knife into butter. I haven't completely worked out the specs on this, but I imagine it would be highly effective on almost anything.

L2K

maybe it could bee a little more fancy design wise ?
looks a bit much like a regular gun...

davidnevue

Actually the water doesnt cut the steel, they add very fine grains of glass or other substances to the water jet to make it cut. Keep that in mind.

Major Diarrhia

It wouldn't create a water jet, it would create an explosion. If it's a gradual reaction then you would get a steam rocket. In the latter case, you might as well make it a rocket bullet.

oldmangreg

Ok I had to look at this thread after seeing a few times. I was thinking you were making like a water gun that kids shoot at each other. lol
It's an interesting concept.

LockeFP

That's some fraking expensive ammo. Like, $1000 a bullet? Hell, you have to mine the lower parts of JUPITER to get the stuff, then ship it all the way back to Earth. And you better hope like crazy that the chambers on those rounds never get defective! One breach, and you're whole arm is gone. Still, an interesting concept.

Capt Dave

I see one insurmountable problem. The weapon would require several billion BTU's to satisfy the thermal vacuum as the hydrogen and oxygen expand. The only way i can see to get that much heat is to have a fission reactor in the gun.

Tugar

Capt Dave wrote: »

I see one insurmountable problem. The weapon would require several billion BTU's to satisfy the thermal vacuum as the hydrogen and oxygen expand. The only way i can see to get that much heat is to have a fission reactor in the gun.

No. This is Sci-fi. The metallic hydrogen and oxygen would be encapsulated somehow inside the bullet. Once it hits the target, it would 'break' open causing damage to said target. It wouldn't even need to be the whole bullet. A small amount would work just fine. If the thermal transference freezes the target, in most case the next bullet would shatter it. The bullets would be more or less safe until fired at something.

And Locke....the hydrogen and oxygen could be compressed from other sources. I just used Jupiter as an example of naturally occurring materials.