The Water Musket
Objective: To create an inexpensive and efficient anti-crowd weapon which does not cause any major physical harm to the human body.
Abstract: The water musket consists of a long cylindrical body with one end hollow and the other end connected to the pumping system, consisting of a high voltage power supply, along with an extra pair of wires that can be connected to car batteries incase of battery outage.The water musket sprays a small quantity of water at a high velocity, effectively forming water bullets which causes irritation. Since the amount of water sprayed is less, the quantity of water to be carried will be around 5L per water musket. The water can be replaced with a semi concentrated acid soln. in extreme cases and a separate vial containing the acid will be attached to the main storage tank.Similar to a traditional musket, the water musket will be armed with a pointed knife like tip, incase the opponent decides to attack short range.
List of figures and tables :
length: 150cm
diameter of water tube: 6cm
Capacity of storage tank: 5L
Power requirement: 220V, 859W
Maximum pressure of water pump: 100torr
Conc. of acid soln in container: 2N
Acknowledgement: I would like to thank the physics lab as well as the high pressure mechanics labs of VIT university. These have helped me in my research and without the help of the respective faculty i would not have been able to complete my research on the project ''Water musket''
Introduction: Many times riots have razed cities to their foundations and have caused tremendous pain and suffering for those in the way. The 'water musket' will be able to effectively check riots as well as prevent them , in a way which is relatively harmless for the participants. Being hit by the water bullets does not cause any long lasting or permanent damage to the human body, but causes irritation which can prevent a mass crowd from causing any damage to civillians or the city.
Experiment Details:
DEFINITIONS:
Threshold diameter: minimum diameter of the tube , above which considerable damage is caused to the target
Threshold pressure: maximum pressure, above which damage is caused to the machinery.
PROCESS:Water is compressed under a high pressure and forced through a tube of narrow diameter in a short span of time. This causes the water to be ejected in small quantities and at a high velocity.
APPARATUS NEEDED: Narrow tube, pressusre pump(preferably hydraulic) , valve(externally controlled), watermelon target
PROCEDURE:
To find threshold diameter:
1.Take a small quantity of water(50ml) and fill inside pump.
2.compress it to using the pump. The valve is shut at this point.
3.Release the valve after the pressure builds up to ~80atm.
4.Aim tube at watermelon target, which mimics the hardness and resistance of human skin.
5.If any cracks are observed on watermelon target, increase the diameter of tube.
6.Repeat experiment with different diameters of tube.
To find threshold pressure:
1.Take a mock container , made out of the material of the musket(usually teflon polymers)
2.Fill the container with water and put it under pressure.
3.Constantly increase the pressure until the container cracks.
4.Measure the pressure.This gives the threshold pressure.
Results:
Threshold diameter is found to be: 6cm
Threshold pressure is found to be : 80torr
Precautions:
->Concentration of the acid should not exceed 0.1N
->The experimental setup should not be aimed at humans or animals
->The tube should be secured tightly.
Conclusion:
The water musket can be made keeping in mind the parameters defined in the experiment details. The materials used should not be metallic as they will wear out overtime.
References:
1.For pressure measurement: Advanced fluid mechanics by O.J.Langdon
2.For material and polymer design: Polymers and Synthetic materials engineering by Wendell Brockman
