Thread: Suppressors - Am I missing something

Originally Posted by Sidney

Energy is energy, work is energy expended over time, force felt (work) is affected by the total energy expended and the time/pattern it is released over..... suppressors alter the pattern of energy expended over time which changes the perception of felt force. They do not alter the total amount of energy released.. and they have no effect on converting energy in felt recoil into a different direction.

The best example I can think of would be a compressor storage tank. Dumping the contents over a short time increases the felt force.... the same amount of energy is released with a smaller valve over a longer time...

Muzzle brakes on the other hand convert some of the total energy released into forwards force by redirecting some of that energy in the opposite direction.... different process....

Though, because the gases cool in the suppressor, some of the kinetic energy is turned into heat energy and dissipated. This is why an attached suppressor is not an entirely closed system.