Did the Confederates have a steam gun that could shoot like a modern machine gun.

Talk About It Here!

MythMod

*Warning: Science Content*

CENTRIFUGAL force?!?!?!?!

Twice in the first 5 minutes!!

Ugh. *facepalm* (see: http://will.incorrige.us/facepalm/picard.jpeg)

found another civil war machine gun kinda weird
its like 50 barrels lined up in a row and when youpull alever they all shoot wish i had a picture

The Confederate Steam Gun does exist! It is currently residing in Elkridge, Maryland, just south of Baltimore, Maryland. It was captured by Union troops as the Confederates were trying to transport it across the Patapsco river over the Viaduct railroad bridge. I do believe that it really worked and it looks just like the old-time sketch they had on the show.

I have to reply even though someone else pointed this out..

Centrifugal Force DOESN'T EXIST!!!

I understand that no one would understand what "centripetal" force is but at least use Newton's law as a reference instead. :-( My physics teacher kicked a trashcan across the front of the room anytime anyone used the word centrifugal. You've earned two kicks!

quote:

You don't just want to dent the enemy, you want to kill him

Adam... Not true a wounded soldier has to be carried back to the medic thus causing two more soldiers to be at least temporarily out of commission, It was common practice to wound an enemy in many wars up until modern times, where it is considered "inhumane"

I like mythbusters , but this was about the lamest show ever. How STUPID was it to use water heaters for boilers when just a show or two ago you proved how dangerous they are once the safety devices are unhooked. Then you go and unhook them so that you can use them for a purpose they were never designed for, pressure . Where these certified boilers, were they inspected, hydrotested, ANYTHING? NOOOOooo. How do you know these water HEATERS had welds that would stand up to the pressure you were putting into them, or any pressure at all, without being guina pigs. I mean 120 lbs of steam will make a helluva explosion too.
Also why stop where you did... Were you afraid they were going to blow? Usually you make every effort to prove a myth even if it means stretching it a bit. Why not 4000 rpm. Why not a curved or angled tube to fire the shot better. Why not a longer tube? Larger diameter, lead shot? I think there were many ways to make this myth plausable as a killer.
BTW I own several 1900 steam tractors and go through rigorous training and inspections so that the boilers will be considered safe. I would be happy to provide you with one, adding a certain amount of authenticity and a whole lot of safety. Or better yet, send me the setup and I'll use it on my ranch and let you know what happens.

I hope they can redo the test of the gun using Lead ammo (more period specific & more common during that time). Lead should deliver more kinetic energy to the target, as it has a higher atomic mass than many steels. I believe the barrel length might have a greater increase on the velocity of the projectiles as well. Longer barrel should increase the force. I would also like to see vented barrels used to reduce air pressure.

Earlier post I made was about using an eight foot barrel for a velocity at 3k rpm of over Mach 2. I will add that it would help by using laminar flow barrels to reduce drag.

Quick link http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/18...winans-steam-gun.htm

i wonder if any of you guys noticed that jamie was out of character in some of the shots. He wasn't wearing his trademark white button front shirt.

I only see one problem with your test. you had used plastic bullets. at first when you created the barrel you dropped a metal marble threw it, also while making the ammo timer. though when testing the complete device you used a plastic bullet. a large round plastic bullet usually will not penetrate anything, which is why in air soft guns they use plastic rounds instead of metal bb's. i believe using a metal bullet will show a more acuate result. lead would most likely be the best as it was used in that time. also size of the bullet will impact your results. a heavy marble will drop faster than one of lighter weight (obviously) and a if shooting at a distance a heavy bullet will stop sooner. it is science as well as common sense. I have seen a lot of Mythbuster episodes and this is the only one I can see any complaint on. i think you should re-do it will various sized bullets with various density metals that were common in that time and could possibly be used in that war.

Even with the above arguments taken out, a couple of these throwing massive piles of shot at the enemy would quickly reduce a charging foe to a field of screaming wounded. Making it very easy to finish them off with your own troops.

The weapon itself would hardly have to kill. Although with the above arguments in mind, it likely would.

Using lead or steel balls would have not changed the results much. They'd have been moving slower, and the penetration (if any) would have been reduced by the loss in speed to about the same as those plastic balls (if that's what they were).

If they'd used it in the civil war, it wouldn't have been a field of wounded men. It'd have been a field of irritated men with welts (unless unlucky enough to be hit in the eye of course).

Even though the machine gun itself may not be deadly it can create a great advantage by keeping the enemy down and allowing your side to take advantage.

Interesting to note that at least one firm is developing a modern weapon based on essentially the same principals.
Using high-speed electric motor instead of steam, the thing achieves a high rate of fire and is evidently intended for vehicle-mounted defense against "overrun" attacks.
All these weapons might be expected to show poor accuracy, unless an inventor figures a way to induce spin in the projectiles.

quote:

Originally posted by mythmod:
Did the Confederates have a steam gun that could shoot like a modern machine gun.

Talk About It Here!

MythMod

I enjoyed the show about the steam gun, but found a number of fallacies in it.

Steel pellets do not have the same effect as lead pellets. Ask any waterfowl hunter the difference between lead shot and steel shot. So I believe the gun would have been more destructive with lead pellets which would have been used during the Civil War.

Also the gun suffered from issues with steam control. This was the age of steam and handling steam devices was much more commonplace then. I am a licensed high pressure contractor in the state of Minnesota, formerly called Master Steam Fitter license. The steam system you built for this show left a lot to be desired. I personally would not have been anywhere near it when it was operating! I believe it would have been far more functional and easier to use then the device you built.

I have watched and enjoyed many of your shows and this is the first time I felt compelled to write a comment on any of them. thanks for listening.

Everything else aside, I though it was a great example of why they use pigs as human analogues. After the Pirates 2 episode last week quite a few PETA-types posted here complaining about them using the pigs rather than ballistics gel, seemingly under the impression that the two are interchangeable for tests like that (and this). This was a perfect example of why they are NOT interchangeable; the shot went straight through the gel, and bounced off porky.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by killick123:
"... the shot went straight through the gel, and bounced off porky."

Did you forget that the ballistcs gel was at point blank range and that porky wasn't?