A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point. In contrast, firing pins used in firearms usually have a small, rounded portion designed to strike the primer of a cartridge, detonating the priming compound, which then ignites the propellant (in the case of firearms) or fires the detonator and booster.
Read more about Firing Pin: Firing Pin Vs. Striker, Firing Pin Construction, Striker Construction, Other Uses, Images
Famous quotes containing the words firing and/or pin:
“The sight of a planet through a telescope is worth all the course on astronomy; the shock of the electric spark in the elbow, outvalues all the theories; the taste of the nitrous oxide, the firing of an artificial volcano, are better than volumes of chemistry.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Suddenly we have a baby who poops and cries, and we are trying to calm, clean up, and pin things together all at once. Then as fast as we learn to cope—so soon—it is hard to recall why diapers ever seemed so important. The frontiers change, and now perhaps we have a teenager we can’t reach.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)