Muzzleflashes unrealistic?

Originally Posted by LukeFF

Eh, how about some actual wartime footage?

That's an IL-2 firing Soviet guns. Having fired a Mosin Nagant I can tell you that the Russians have no problems with adding too much powder to their ammo. Then again it might also be more lax quality control than their western counterparts.

[Skoshi Tiger]

Originally Posted by swiss

Contact with air?
How do you wanna do that - create an anaerobe climate inside the cartridge? If so, where do take the oxygen needed for the combustion from?

There is a reason gunpowder has the shape of lil' balls(or cylinders): More space for O2 in between.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

All propellants (from Black powder to nitrocellulose) contain their fuel and oxider as chemical compounds within the powder. They require no external oxygen.

I am not a Chemist but a heres a discussion of the reaction for black powder,

"Black powder consists of the granular ingredients sulfur (S), charcoal (provides carbon to the reaction) and saltpetre (saltpetre, potassium nitrate, KNO3; provides oxygen to the reaction).

A simple, commonly cited, chemical equation for the combustion of black powder is:

2 KNO3 + S + 3C → K2S + N2 + 3CO2
A more accurate, but still simplified[1], equation is

10 KNO3 + 3S + 8C → 2K2CO3 + 3K2SO4 + 6 CO2 + 5N2
"
[online http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...0134837AAZTiVM ]

The shape of various propellants is designed to ensure consistent ignition and transference of the flame front as the powder ignites.

Cheers
[edit] I've been trying to find the equation for the combustion of nitrocellulose but I can't find one. Only how to make it! (go figure)

For those who care Cordite is nitrocellulose that has been disolved in nitroglycerine with a bit of petrolium jelly for lubrication.

Fortunately for when the excreta hits the A.M.D. my 1957 copy of 'Fortunes in Formulas' (25s/9d) has industrial procedure for the manufacture of Both. Oh! They were better days!

Yes , lets delay the release further so they can optimise the muzzle flashes ........

[Screamadelica]

But I'm learning so much....

[ChrisDNT]

Muzzleflashes depend very much of each peculiar arm.

For instance, the nose cannons of the F-5 E/F have about no visible muzzleflash, but the Aden cannons of the Hunter or the Hawk had a very big muzzleflash (not important, as the Aden was always fitted under the belly of the aircrafts).

That means it would be totally illogical to conceive a nose cannon or machine gun which would provide a heavy muzzleflash, which would end in the pilot not seeing where he aims.

[ChrisDNT]

"Eh, how about some actual wartime footage?"

Concerning muzzleflash and tracers, cinema footage or video are not so reliable, as what you see on the tapes is not always what you see in real life, with direct human eyes.

[LukeFF]

Originally Posted by ChrisDNT

"Eh, how about some actual wartime footage?"

Concerning muzzleflash and tracers, cinema footage or video are not so reliable, as what you see on the tapes is not always what you see in real life, with direct human eyes.

It's still there, even if for an instant.

[LukeFF]

Originally Posted by speculum jockey

That's an IL-2 firing Soviet guns. Having fired a Mosin Nagant I can tell you that the Russians have no problems with adding too much powder to their ammo. Then again it might also be more lax quality control than their western counterparts.

Ah, I was waiting for the "this is a Russian aircraft, so it's different" argument.

If the Russians added too much power to their ammo, then I'd expect that one of my several Mosins or other Soviet firearms in my collection would have exploded by now.

Originally Posted by swiss

Contact with air?
How do you wanna do that - create an anaerobe climate inside the cartridge? If so, where do take the oxygen needed for the combustion from?

There is a reason gunpowder has the shape of lil' balls(or cylinders): More space for O2 in between.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

..or u can put a cover in front of the tracer phosphorous component, which will burn when the powder goes off

Check out Galway's excellent image

Originally Posted by ChrisDNT

"Eh, how about some actual wartime footage?"

Concerning muzzleflash and tracers, cinema footage or video are not so reliable, as what you see on the tapes is not always what you see in real life, with direct human eyes.

I've seen videos and the real thing "with human eyes" and the flashes are there. They can be intermittent, irregular or sometimes not show at all, only one thing is constant,smoke.

If they manage to create a muzzle flash that is random and has a fair amount of alpha channel in it they're gonna nail it.