Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-27306930-20161224070925

The Cap'n suggested someone start a new thread on "rifling". So here it is.

Some of you Nerfheads are having a hard time understanding what rifling is, despite having access to the internet, and knowledge of how to use google and wikipedia.

Rifling ITRW, requires that a projectile is in contact with the barrel, so that the spiraled grooves in the barrel can impart spin on the projectile via friction as it moves down the barrel. It's also called the corkscrew effect.

Nerf blasters on the other hand, have faux rifling. In a properly working blaster, the darts never come in contact with the barrel, and therefore don't spin because there is no direct force on the dart to start the turning process.

Let me put it this way. If there was a tunnel that had large spiral grooves cut into it, and you drove your car through it, would your car start spinning ? Or would you enjoy a nice straight ride through the tunnel while you watched the pretty spirals pass by ?

So why is it widely reported that barrel extensions improve accuracy ? I think it has to do with a phenomenon called buffeting. As the dart moves down the constricted space created by the barrel, a small shock wave is generated by the head of the darts that conically radiates down the length of the dart and stabilizes the trajectory by producing a high pressure zone along the entire length of the dart. It's like a little "air blanket" that travels along with the dart and keeps it parallel to the barrel. But this effect also creates additional friction which reduces the range.

So let's not confuse faux rifling with barrel extensions, and accuracy. Rifled Nerf barrels are fake ! Plain and simple. Barrel extensions can improve consistency, but undoubtedly reduce ranges. 