TEE RIFLE BALLS OF THE FUTURE.
The reduction of the calibre of guns is necessarily accompanied with a diminution in the weight of the projectile. The length of the latter, in fact, cannot exceed a certain limit, beyond which it would no longer have sufficient stability in its trajectory. It would therefore be of considerable interest to have at our disposal, for the manufacture of rifle balls, a metal of reasonable price, and heavier than lead. One of the metals upon which hopes may be founded, remarks the Revue d’Armes Fortatives ct de Tit, is tungsten. This metal, which is almost as hard as steel, has a density varying from 17 to 19-3, say one and a half times that of lead. By reason of snch qualities, balls of tungsten, of equal dimensions, possess a power of penetration much greater than that of lead. Thus, a tungsten ball penetrates a steel plate three inches in thickness at a distance of 650 yards, while a similar one of lead penetrates a 2|in plate at 325 yards only. The present obstacle to the use of tungsten is its relatively high price, but there are indications that this will soon be lowered figures.
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Bibliographic details
Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 10482, 20 October 1894, Page 6
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200TEE RIFLE BALLS OF THE FUTURE. Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 10482, 20 October 1894, Page 6
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