Other Definitions
suppressor (dict)
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SuppressorA suppressor is a device attached to a gun to reduce the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon. The suppressor is typically a cylindrical piece of machined metal that attaches to the muzzle of the pistol or rifle. Some others are designed as an integral part of the weapon, and may include an expansion chamber that partially surrounds the barrel. The suppressor reduces noise by allowing the rapidly expanding gasses from the detonation of the round to be briefly diverted or trapped inside a series of hollow chambers called baffles. Some advanced designs use baffles to shift the frequency of the remaining sound beyond the range of human hearing, further reducing noise. Suppressors are most effective when the bullet's velocity does not exceed the speed of sound. A bullet that breaks the sound barrier creates loud flight noise, or a "sonic boom". As velocity increases further beyond the speed of sound, flight noise does not increase significantly. Supersonic flight noise may be reduced somewhat by using a projectile of smaller caliber. The type of gun also effects suppressor efficiency. Guns with the least 'leakage' are best, so a sealed breech (e.g. bolt action) is preferable and can be suppressed to the point that it makes only a "click" as the firing pin or hammer hits the primer. Most autoloading firearms still make a "crack" sound, from the gun cycling (a video is available here.) and the leak of high velocity gas from the breech. Revolvers, due to their 'loose' structure, cannot be made quiet. Suppressors vary greatly in size and efficiency. A type developed in the 1980s by the US Navy for 9 mm pistols is 15 cm by 4.5 cm (5.9 in. X 1.77 in.) and is good for six shots with standard ammunition or up to thirty with low-powered, subsonic ammunition. The British Sterling suppressor is 35 cm (13.78 in.) long and 7.5 cm (2.95 in.) in diameter and will work effectively for hundreds of shots with standard ammunition. Suppressors can be improvised with any baffling material (pillow, potato, plastic bottle etc), these are only marginally useful. Suppressors are occasionally called "silencers", but this is inaccurate as suppressors lessen the sound of a firearm's muzzle blast only. The nifty, near silent, sound that suppressed firearms make in movies is pure fabrication. Early suppressors were created around the beginning of the 20th century by a number of inventors. American inventor Hiram P. Maxim is credited with inventing and selling the first commercially successful models from around 1902. Legal regulation of suppressors varies widely around the world. In some nations, such as England or Finland, they are practically unregulated and may be bought "over the counter" in retail stores. Other nations, such as Canada, practically forbid their private citizens from owning silencers, while yet others, such as the USA, tax and regulate their manufacture and sale to varying degrees state by state. International laws of war strictly ban the military use of silencers. Anyone caught with a silenced firearm is automatically excluded from the protection of Geneva treaties and will likely be executed on the spot. The condemning stance on silencer use in war dates back to 1809, when an austrian alpine trooper lying in wait with his Lorenzoni compressed air bolt action rifle shot and killed Napoleon Bonaparte's aide-de-camp, missing the emperor mere inches. Napoleon promptly ordered to hang all enemy soldiers caught with any noiseless "unchivalrous" gun in hand. During the late 1950s the PLA procured millions of domestically produced clones of the PPSh submachine gun with integrated silencer for infantry use.
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