The Metric System, a little help?

[Sage Hazzard]

Howdy. I'm having a little trouble. I don't know the metric system at all. And I need to know a size and weight for a gun, but I have a listing in metric. Is there a site with a form or something? Where you put in a measurement, press enter, and it converts it? That'd be extremely helpful. Anyway, if not, help would be appreciated. Here it is:

Length: 802 MM
Weight: 16.3 KG
Barrel: 560 MM

Oh, and could someone also help me out with firing rates. My oldest brother tried to help but what he came up with doesn't make sense to me, it seems too fast. In a MPH please, makes it easy on my wee little brain.

Rate of Fire: Up to 6000 RDS/Min
Muzzle Velocity: 920 M/Sec

Oh, and could someone help me out with what the difference between these two speeds are? What's a muzzle velocity?

And those that know a lot about weapons, and try to explain, speak "down" to me. I'm an idiot in these manners and need it spelled out in legos.

[Master Yoghurt]

www.all-nettools.com/tools8.htm (http://www.all-nettools.com/tools8.htm)

[Sage Hazzard]

Thank you Yogster. That helped on the weight, but not the length. It doesn't seem to have a Millimeter option. Thanks though, the weight was VERY important.

[Morgan Evanar]

convert.french-property.co.uk/index.htm (http://convert.french-property.co.uk/index.htm)

[Ryla Relvinian]

Hey bud. Here's an explanation for ya. First of all, unless this is in a computer game, it probably can't fire 6000 rounds a minute. 650 is the max. Muzzle velocity has to do with how fast they are shot. 920 feet per second is more likely. What kind of a weapon is this?

[Figrin D an]

"Muzzle Velocity" is the actual velocity (speed) that the projectile (bullet) travels after being fired. In a typical rifle or pistol, once the hammer impacts the primer on the shell (the casing for the bullet), a spark ignites the powder inside of the shell. In a fraction of a second, the powder burns, builds intense pressure inside of the shell, and eventually expells the bullet from the shell and the weapon. The speed at which the projectiles leaves the weapon is the Muzzle Velocity.
(I'm using the terms 'speed' and 'velocity' pretty much interchangably, which isn't completely accurate, but for these purposes, is fine.)

"Rate of Fire" is simply the number rounds that can be discharged over a set period of time. In your case, the number of 6000 RDS/min means that the weapon is capable of firing as many as 6000 rounds over a 1 minute period.
For a semi-automatic weapon or single-shot weapon, the Rate of Fire number is only an estimation, as the actual rate of fire depends upon the speed at which the bearer can reload and or squeeze the trigger again. In a full-automatic weapon, the Rate of Fire is much more accurate as the only "human" variable is if the bearer can control the weapon enough to keep the trigger depressed.



Hope that helps. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)">

[Figrin D an]

And honestly, converting those numbers to use MPH really isn't going to help much, as referencing a bullet's speed in terms of miles traveled in a one-hour period really isn't accurate.

Here's something that might help, though: There are 1600 Meters in 1 mile. By the numbers you listed, that would mean that the projectile could travel about a half a mile every second.

6000 rounds per minute is a bit fast for a hand held weapon, but larger projectile weapons can spit lead a lot faster than that...

[Kurklash]

hmm......it is odd that you know all this Figrin.....<img src=http://www.thegjo.com/forum/smileys/magtongue.gif ALT=":p">

[Morgan Evanar]

Eh, anyone who was a flight-sim junkie would know that.

[Figrin D an]

lol... I just know firearms and physics, that's all. I'm not really a flight-sim junkie... and I'm not a 3D shooter junkie either. I prefer the real thing... <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)">

[Morgan Evanar]

I can't do the real thing so I do paintball =]

[Sage Hazzard]

It's a gatling gun. Well, actually, a minigun, a miniture version of the gatling gun. Would it be believeable for a human to carry the weapon? If it was only for a short period of time? Not using a stand or tri-pod?

[Figrin D an]

A minigun? Yeah, one could be carried for a short while, longer if you have the upper body strength and endurance to support it. Keep in mind though, that it's not just the gun... it's the ammo as well. A large ammo cache is going to weigh A LOT.

[Sage Hazzard]

Yeah, plus it needs an outside power source, I think. So it'll be hefty. But if you're a body builder type Star Wars character, it's possible. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)"> Plus, it wouldn't be for too long. It'd just be held stationary, maybe a little movement, than dropped. But if it used a stand, then it would take too long to set up and wouldn't offer mobility if it is crucial to dodge something. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)">

Could Vin Diesel do it?

[Marcus QDunn]

There is a rail gun principle Mini Gun the NRSF have. It's a bastage to carry and you need a tripod and clamps for support for sustained fire. Certainly is not a general purpose hand held. Scorpion uses it <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)">

Wanna borrow it?

When all official scientific measurements and the rest of the world now basically use metric, it still confuses me why anyone would want to use the more complex Imperial.

[Master Yoghurt]

Old habits are hard to turn

[Morgan Evanar]

Cause our goverment is stupid.