Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:43 pm
I'm actually surprised that (as of the moment) 73% of ya'll got it right (item A in the poll).
@Biopyro (and the masses)....
The term "chain gun" actually describes the inner workings of a family of guns. If you open up a chain gun what you'll find is....a chain! It looks very similar to a motorcycle's chain. One link of that chain will have a cog on it that engages the gun's bolt and physically moves it forward and backward and fires the gun. The chain is driven by a (typically) electric motor (although a hydraulic motor could be used too) and the gun's rate of fire can be adjusted simply by speeding up or slowing down the motor (and thereby the speed at which the chain is moving).
Now, if you REALLY want to get picky, "chain gun" is also a trademark of Alliant Tech (as mentioned earlier in the thread). So while other companies may make chain guns, they can not actually call them that as it violates ATK's trademark. Still, I would never fault somebody for calling a chain-driven gun a "chain gun" regardless of who manufactured it.
What chain guns are NOT, is gatling guns (option B in the poll) although for some odd reason this is very common usage (and it bugs the crap out of me!).
@Biopyro (and the masses)....
The term "chain gun" actually describes the inner workings of a family of guns. If you open up a chain gun what you'll find is....a chain! It looks very similar to a motorcycle's chain. One link of that chain will have a cog on it that engages the gun's bolt and physically moves it forward and backward and fires the gun. The chain is driven by a (typically) electric motor (although a hydraulic motor could be used too) and the gun's rate of fire can be adjusted simply by speeding up or slowing down the motor (and thereby the speed at which the chain is moving).
Now, if you REALLY want to get picky, "chain gun" is also a trademark of Alliant Tech (as mentioned earlier in the thread). So while other companies may make chain guns, they can not actually call them that as it violates ATK's trademark. Still, I would never fault somebody for calling a chain-driven gun a "chain gun" regardless of who manufactured it.
What chain guns are NOT, is gatling guns (option B in the poll) although for some odd reason this is very common usage (and it bugs the crap out of me!).