' ... The pen is mightier than the sword ...', or so they say. Practically, though, one finds oneself fascinated by the gun - the modern day iteration of the sword. My knowledge of guns would pale away in comparison to many in the west, especially the US given the preponderance of guns there. Nevertheless a brief look at weapons evolution and an examination of some of the most famous ones would be interesting. Don't worry, this is not going to be a history lesson, merely a collection of my thoughts.
In the (animated) movie 'Gotham Knight' Batman, speaking of guns, says "... I'd never use one, but even I can appreciate the attraction of a gun. The heft. The sleekness. The cool steel. The precision. And the power, the power to change lives, history - the power of God!" This is a really cool statement, which communicates, in a nutshell, why guns are so cool!
One doesn't have to be a history major to know that guns are, in relation to human evolution as a whole, a fairly recent phenomenon. In the early days, the closest man got to a gun was perhaps the bow and arrow. The principle was simple - transfer energy from one object (the bow, in this case) through the bowstring to the projectile (the arrow, in this case). Several variations of the bow and arrow existed, each using a different sources of the energy source. While catapults used the elastic energy of the 'throwing arm' trebuchets used the energy from the weight of heavy stones, in each case the energy was transferred to a projectile intended for the enemy.
While the basic principle remains the same in the guns of today, their evolution didn't actually begin until the advent of a special branch of science - chemistry. The true predecessor of the modern gun is the cannon, used worldwide in the medieval battlefield. A cylindrical barrel, closed at one end, contains a close fitting projectile inside near the closed end. Between the projectile (the shot) and the end of the barrel is the new 'energy source' - a chemical mixture that is designed to be explosive, the Gunpowder. When the explosion is set off (by setting fire to this gunpowder), the gases from this reaction have nowhere to go except toward the open end of the barrel, pushing the projectile as they expand. The projectile leaves the barrel at a high speed - point it at the right direction, and you can injure a person pretty far away. Ingenious minds miniaturized this into the musket, which quickly became the most advanced personal weapon of its time - immortalized by Alexandre Dumas in 'The Three Musketeers'.
The next major evolutionary step for guns came in the form of the Cartridge (not the one in your printer). The groundbreaking idea of the cartridge is astoundingly simple - combine the projectile and the chemical mixture into a single unit encased in a shell, with a well placed 'primer' which, when struck, would produce the spark that would ignite the mixture, sending the projectile on its way. Why exactly was this groundbreaking? Simply because before the arrival of the cartridge, the user needed to clean the barrel, put in some gunpowder, load the shot (projectile), pack it in tightly, and then ignite the mixture - repeat: till either your enemy is no longer standing or you yourself aren't (you could always run and hide, but you'll likely be shot by your own people if you do so). With a cartridge, repeat firing became increasingly easy. The nomenclature evolved into 'bullet', 'slug', and 'shot', among several other monikers. It wasn't long before multiple bullets were encased in a box (a.k.a. magazine), with a spring helping the loading of the next one in the barrel, leading to the development of automatic weapons.
Several innovations helped further develop this technology and improve the potency of weapons. The revolver and the pistol gave a new lease of life to the mobility of weapons. While machine guns forever changed the face of war. Where assault rifles like the AK-47 have powered nations and extremist groups alike, tanks form the new frontlines of battle. A view on some of the important weapons of today is warranted here.
The Hand Gun
Encompassing revolvers (which have a rotary set of chambers containing one bullet each) and pistols (which have a spring loaded magazine, lending most of them 'automatic' i.e. the next bullet automatically loads upon firing the last one) handguns are ubiquitous as sidearms of soldiers and law enforcers, and in American homes (an amendment in their constitution gives every citizen there a RIGHT to own a firearm/weapon). Famous brands include Glock, Beretta, FN Herstal, Smith & Wesson, Walther, SIG, Colt and Magnum, among others.
The Assault Rifle
Two of the greatest assault rifles are the AK47 and the M16, which almost became symbols of the Soviets and the Americans respectively during the cold war. What they were emulating, however, was a German WW2 weapon of legendary status - the Sturmgewehr (think I got the spelling right, and your guess is as good as mine about its pronunciation!). This weapon was (relatively) light, reliable, and, most importantly, deadly on the battlefield. Mikhail Kalashnikov (legendary creator of the AK 47), set about creating a reliable assault rifle that would be a fitting reply to the Germans' main weapon. Although the AK 47 arrived a little late to affect WW2, its effect on history is hardly in question. The M16 was developed by America as a response to the AK - packing lesser punch, but far more accurate. Other famous assault rifles include the German G36 and the Belgian/British L1A1 (a.k.a. the self loading rifle, SLR, and the light machine gun, LMG), among several others.
The Machine Gun
Tracing its origins to the Gatling gun of the American Civil war, the machine gun is now seen (in various avatars) on ships to fend off enemy aircraft that come in too close, on aircraft to hit other aircraft as well as ground targets, and is fitted on a myriad variety of land based battle machines - from jeeps and Humvees to tanks. Perhaps the most famous machine gun is the Browning, with several evolutionary variants still in service today, while the 'gatling type' mini-guns are found on several weapons platforms including ships, helicopters and bombers. The Gatling type gun is distinctive in its appearance, with multiple barrels arranged in a circle, and each barrel taking turns to load the next cartridge and unload its projectile. Modern variants are known to fire up to 4500 rounds per minute! A mini-gun was famously used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator 2: Judgement day, standing at a window, raining bullets on the policemen below - bloody cool scene!
The Sniper Rifle
Snipers are cool! They patiently wait, until the time is right, and then - bang! From the 'Deadshot' character in Batman comics, to the Soviet Vassily Zaitsev in WW2 (can be seen in the movie 'Enemy at the Gates'), to the 'shoot-through-the-scope' sniper in 'Saving Private Ryan', to a much-fictionalized Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper', the sniper is often able to pique one's curiosity unlike any other weapon. The American M series (M24, M40 and the M82 Barrett), the Soviet Dragunov, the German PSG-1, the British Enfield come to mind, among several others.
Several other variants of guns exist, and the public interest in them shows no signs of waning. My own interest in them is often viewed as morbid, but I believe that a neutral observer (neither pacifist nor warmonger) would admit that Guns are pretty d*** fascinating.
In the (animated) movie 'Gotham Knight' Batman, speaking of guns, says "... I'd never use one, but even I can appreciate the attraction of a gun. The heft. The sleekness. The cool steel. The precision. And the power, the power to change lives, history - the power of God!" This is a really cool statement, which communicates, in a nutshell, why guns are so cool!
One doesn't have to be a history major to know that guns are, in relation to human evolution as a whole, a fairly recent phenomenon. In the early days, the closest man got to a gun was perhaps the bow and arrow. The principle was simple - transfer energy from one object (the bow, in this case) through the bowstring to the projectile (the arrow, in this case). Several variations of the bow and arrow existed, each using a different sources of the energy source. While catapults used the elastic energy of the 'throwing arm' trebuchets used the energy from the weight of heavy stones, in each case the energy was transferred to a projectile intended for the enemy.
While the basic principle remains the same in the guns of today, their evolution didn't actually begin until the advent of a special branch of science - chemistry. The true predecessor of the modern gun is the cannon, used worldwide in the medieval battlefield. A cylindrical barrel, closed at one end, contains a close fitting projectile inside near the closed end. Between the projectile (the shot) and the end of the barrel is the new 'energy source' - a chemical mixture that is designed to be explosive, the Gunpowder. When the explosion is set off (by setting fire to this gunpowder), the gases from this reaction have nowhere to go except toward the open end of the barrel, pushing the projectile as they expand. The projectile leaves the barrel at a high speed - point it at the right direction, and you can injure a person pretty far away. Ingenious minds miniaturized this into the musket, which quickly became the most advanced personal weapon of its time - immortalized by Alexandre Dumas in 'The Three Musketeers'.
The next major evolutionary step for guns came in the form of the Cartridge (not the one in your printer). The groundbreaking idea of the cartridge is astoundingly simple - combine the projectile and the chemical mixture into a single unit encased in a shell, with a well placed 'primer' which, when struck, would produce the spark that would ignite the mixture, sending the projectile on its way. Why exactly was this groundbreaking? Simply because before the arrival of the cartridge, the user needed to clean the barrel, put in some gunpowder, load the shot (projectile), pack it in tightly, and then ignite the mixture - repeat: till either your enemy is no longer standing or you yourself aren't (you could always run and hide, but you'll likely be shot by your own people if you do so). With a cartridge, repeat firing became increasingly easy. The nomenclature evolved into 'bullet', 'slug', and 'shot', among several other monikers. It wasn't long before multiple bullets were encased in a box (a.k.a. magazine), with a spring helping the loading of the next one in the barrel, leading to the development of automatic weapons.
Several innovations helped further develop this technology and improve the potency of weapons. The revolver and the pistol gave a new lease of life to the mobility of weapons. While machine guns forever changed the face of war. Where assault rifles like the AK-47 have powered nations and extremist groups alike, tanks form the new frontlines of battle. A view on some of the important weapons of today is warranted here.
The Hand Gun
Encompassing revolvers (which have a rotary set of chambers containing one bullet each) and pistols (which have a spring loaded magazine, lending most of them 'automatic' i.e. the next bullet automatically loads upon firing the last one) handguns are ubiquitous as sidearms of soldiers and law enforcers, and in American homes (an amendment in their constitution gives every citizen there a RIGHT to own a firearm/weapon). Famous brands include Glock, Beretta, FN Herstal, Smith & Wesson, Walther, SIG, Colt and Magnum, among others.
The Assault Rifle
Two of the greatest assault rifles are the AK47 and the M16, which almost became symbols of the Soviets and the Americans respectively during the cold war. What they were emulating, however, was a German WW2 weapon of legendary status - the Sturmgewehr (think I got the spelling right, and your guess is as good as mine about its pronunciation!). This weapon was (relatively) light, reliable, and, most importantly, deadly on the battlefield. Mikhail Kalashnikov (legendary creator of the AK 47), set about creating a reliable assault rifle that would be a fitting reply to the Germans' main weapon. Although the AK 47 arrived a little late to affect WW2, its effect on history is hardly in question. The M16 was developed by America as a response to the AK - packing lesser punch, but far more accurate. Other famous assault rifles include the German G36 and the Belgian/British L1A1 (a.k.a. the self loading rifle, SLR, and the light machine gun, LMG), among several others.
The Machine Gun
Tracing its origins to the Gatling gun of the American Civil war, the machine gun is now seen (in various avatars) on ships to fend off enemy aircraft that come in too close, on aircraft to hit other aircraft as well as ground targets, and is fitted on a myriad variety of land based battle machines - from jeeps and Humvees to tanks. Perhaps the most famous machine gun is the Browning, with several evolutionary variants still in service today, while the 'gatling type' mini-guns are found on several weapons platforms including ships, helicopters and bombers. The Gatling type gun is distinctive in its appearance, with multiple barrels arranged in a circle, and each barrel taking turns to load the next cartridge and unload its projectile. Modern variants are known to fire up to 4500 rounds per minute! A mini-gun was famously used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Terminator 2: Judgement day, standing at a window, raining bullets on the policemen below - bloody cool scene!
The Sniper Rifle
Snipers are cool! They patiently wait, until the time is right, and then - bang! From the 'Deadshot' character in Batman comics, to the Soviet Vassily Zaitsev in WW2 (can be seen in the movie 'Enemy at the Gates'), to the 'shoot-through-the-scope' sniper in 'Saving Private Ryan', to a much-fictionalized Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper', the sniper is often able to pique one's curiosity unlike any other weapon. The American M series (M24, M40 and the M82 Barrett), the Soviet Dragunov, the German PSG-1, the British Enfield come to mind, among several others.
Several other variants of guns exist, and the public interest in them shows no signs of waning. My own interest in them is often viewed as morbid, but I believe that a neutral observer (neither pacifist nor warmonger) would admit that Guns are pretty d*** fascinating.
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