thumb|SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol thumb|Battleship USS Iowa (BB-61)|USS Iowa fires a full broadside from its nine sixteen-inch [[naval guns]]
AI overview
A gun is a weapon that fires projectiles by using explosive force to propel them toward a target. Guns range in size and design from handheld pistols to massive naval cannons, and they matter because they have been central to military, law enforcement, and civilian activities throughout modern history.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
31 sectionsContents
- Etymology and terminology
- Definition
- True gun
- Classic gun
- History
- Proto-gun
- Transition to true guns
- Spread
- Arquebus and musket
- Transition to classic guns
- Modern guns
- Rifles
- Machine guns
- Operating principle
- Components
- Barrel
- Projectile
- Types
- Military
- Handguns
- Hunting
- Machine guns
- Autocannon
- Artillery
- Tank
- Rescue equipment
- Training and entertainment
- Directed-energy weapons
- See also
- Notes
- References
thumb|SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol thumb|Battleship USS Iowa (BB-61)|USS Iowa fires a full broadside from its nine sixteen-inch [[naval guns]]
A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be free-flying (as with bullets and artillery shells) or tethered (as with Tasers, spearguns and harpoon guns). A large-caliber gun is also called a cannon, while a hand-held gun may be called a firearm. Guns were designed as weapons for military use, and then found use in hunting.