RECOIL

Recoil

Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law. In most small arms, the momentum is transferred to the ground through the body of the shooter; while in heavier guns such as mounted machine guns or cannons, the momentum is transferred to the ground through its mount. In order to bring the gun to a halt, a forward counter-recoil force must be applied to the gun over a period of time. Generally, the counter-recoil force is smaller than the recoil force, and is applied over a time period that is ...

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recoil

Noun

  1. The amount of energy transmitted back to the shooter from a firearm which has fired. Recoil is a function of the weight of the weapon, the weight of the projectile, and the speed at which it leaves the muzzle.

Verb

  1. To retreat before an opponent.
  2. To retire, withdraw.
  3. To pull back, especially in disgust, horror or astonishment.
    He recoiled in disgust when he saw the mess.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: recoil
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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