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Some scientists might pride themselves on their finesse with a pipette or their mathematical expertise. But for others, part of the appeal of scientific research is getting to play with very powerful toys. And naturally, some of those toys are guns.
Only these aren’t your grampa’s shotgun. From physics to astronomy to biology, researchers have come up with some pretty awesome ways to propel something from point A to point B using as much energy as they can muster. And most of the time, the science that the gun is used for is even more interesting than the blunderbuss itself.
Outside of science, guns are too often used to subtract from life. None of the guns on this list are designed to destroy, only to create new knowledge. Here’s a look at some of the most amazing guns of science.
Above:
The Ames Vertical Gun Range. Photo credit: NASA
To study these powerful collisions from here on Earth, NASA calls on the Vertical Gun Range at Ames Research Center. Originally intended to support the Apollo missions, it is now used whenever NASA scientists need to fire something very fast at something else. This light gas gun, much smaller than the similarly-powered SHARP gun, uses bursts of hydrogen to shoot a variety of glass, metal, or mineral marbles toward simulated lunar targets at speeds up to 7 kilometers per second. This is still ten times slower than many of the hugely powerful collisions that occur in space, but by witnessing these explosions in the lab, scientists can calibrate their measurements of the blasts they see in space. Analyzing these impacts helps researchers understand the explosive risks future astronauts might encounter in space, and could one day help us return astronauts to the moon, or perhaps even Mars.
Top: Photo of a pyrex marble exploding on impact at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range. Photo credit: Peter Schultz, Brown University, and NASA
NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range
On March 17, a 40 kilogram meteorite impacted the moon, resulting in a flash of light brighter than most stars and the largest meteorite explosion ever recorded on the lunar surface. Meteorite impacts with the moon are not uncommon, but measuring their power and their effect on the lunar surface requires being able study them up close and personal.The Ames Vertical Gun Range. Photo credit: NASA
To study these powerful collisions from here on Earth, NASA calls on the Vertical Gun Range at Ames Research Center. Originally intended to support the Apollo missions, it is now used whenever NASA scientists need to fire something very fast at something else. This light gas gun, much smaller than the similarly-powered SHARP gun, uses bursts of hydrogen to shoot a variety of glass, metal, or mineral marbles toward simulated lunar targets at speeds up to 7 kilometers per second. This is still ten times slower than many of the hugely powerful collisions that occur in space, but by witnessing these explosions in the lab, scientists can calibrate their measurements of the blasts they see in space. Analyzing these impacts helps researchers understand the explosive risks future astronauts might encounter in space, and could one day help us return astronauts to the moon, or perhaps even Mars.
Top: Photo of a pyrex marble exploding on impact at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range. Photo credit: Peter Schultz, Brown University, and NASA
