Firearms
Firearms
Firearms (/ˈfaɪərɑːrmz/; from Old French feu "fire" + arme "weapon") are portable weapons designed to discharge projectiles driven by rapidly expanding high-pressure gas produced by chemical reactions within a confined space. These reactions are induced by the action of an igniter or primer.
Etymology
The term firearm comes from the 14th century English term fyrearme. The first part fyre means "fire", referring to the ignition process of early firearms. The second part arme means "weapon", denoting the item's purpose.
Types of Firearms
Firearms can be categorized in various ways, including by their functioning mechanisms, size, and the type of ammunition they use. Some common types include:
- Handguns: Small, handheld firearms designed for use with one or two hands. They include revolvers and pistols.
- Rifles: Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ("rifling") cut into the bore wall.
- Shotguns: Firearms that are typically designed to be fired from the shoulder, which use the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug.
Related Terms
- Ammunition: The material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon, including bullets or shells.
- Ballistics: The science of mechanics that deals with the launching, flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like.
- Muzzle Velocity: The speed at which a projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Firearms
- Wikipedia's article - Firearms
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