If you take a rifle and saw off part of the barrel, explain what happens to the speed at which bullets emerge from the barrel. Notes: Sawing the barrel doesn't affect the amount of gunpowder in the cartridge nor does it significantly reduce friction.

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- The bullet is accelerated by the force produced by the burning gunpowder as it travels through the barrel.
- The work done on the bullet is given by  
  $$
  W = \int_0^L F(x)\, dx,
  $$
  where $$ L $$ is the length of the barrel and $$ F(x) $$ is the force at position $$ x $$.
- This work is converted into the bullet's kinetic energy, so we have  
  $$
  \frac{1}{2} m v^2 = W,
  $$
  where $$ m $$ is the mass of the bullet and $$ v $$ is its speed as it leaves the barrel.
- When you cut off a part of the barrel, the distance $$ L $$ over which the bullet is accelerated is reduced.
- A shorter barrel means that the expanding gases do work over a shorter distance, resulting in less kinetic energy imparted to the bullet.
- Therefore, since less work is done on the bullet (i.e. less energy is transferred to it), the bullet will exit the barrel with a lower speed.

Thus, sawing off part of the barrel will result in a decrease in the muzzle velocity.
Sawing off part of the rifle barrel reduces the distance the bullet travels inside the barrel, resulting in less force pushing the bullet forward. This means the bullet exits the barrel with a lower speed.

If you take a rifle and saw off part of the barrel, explain what happens to the speed at which bullets emerge from the barrel. Notes: Sawing the barrel doesn't affect the amount of gunpowder in the cartridge nor does it significantly reduce friction.

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