Guns

A gun is a weapon designed to discharge a projectile. The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas or energy and may be free, as with bullets and artillery shells, or captive as with Taser probes and whaling harpoons. The means of projection varies according to design but is usually effected by the action of gas pressure, either produced through the rapid combustion of a propellant or compressed and stored by mechanical means, operating on the projectile inside an open-ended tube in the fashion of a piston. The confined gas accelerates the movable projectile down the length of the tube imparting sufficient velocity to sustain the projectile's travel once the action of the gas ceases at the end of the tube or muzzle. Alternatively, acceleration via electromagnetic field generation may be employed in which case the tube may be dispensed with and a guide rail substituted.

The first firearms were invented in China in the 12th century, and the technology gradually spread through the rest of Asia and into Europe. Modern guns are typically described by their bore diameter or calibre, the type of action employed together with the usual means of deportment . They may be further distinguished by reference to the type of barrel used and the barrel length, the design's primary intended target, or the commonly accepted name for a particular variation .

Etymology

The origin of the English word gun is presently considered to derive from the name given to a particular historical weapon. Domina Gunilda was the name given to a remarkably large ballista, a mechanical bolt throwing weapon of enormous size, mounted at Windsor Castle during the 14C. This name in turn may have derived from the Old Norse woman's proper name Gunnhildr which combines two Norse words referring to battle. In any case the term gonne or gunne was applied to early hand-held firearms by the late 14C. or early 15C.

History

Firearms were invented in the 12th century in China, after the Chinese had invented...